Form Energy Raises $405 Million to Scale Up Multi-Day Energy Storage Solution for the Electric Grid
Energy storage technology and manufacturing company Form Energy, which is developing a battery capable of storing electricity for 100 hours, announced that it has raised $405 million in a Series F financing round.
Energy storage solutions and infrastructure are emerging as a key energy transition investment area. Storage forms one of the major building blocks for the rapidly expanding clean energy transition, given the intermittent generating nature of many sources of renewable energy, such as wind and solar, and the need to satisfy round-the-clock energy demand, while ensuring that energy is not wasted.
Founded in 2017, Somerville, Massachusetts-based Form Energy specializes in building iron-air batteries to store electricity produced by electric grids using renewables, such as solar power. The battery’s 100-hour storage capabilities will enable utilities to increase their use of renewables in electricity production, making low-cost clean energy available when and where it’s needed, even during multiple days of extreme weather, grid outages, or periods of low generation, according to the company.
The financing was led by T. Rowe Price, which was joined by GE Vernova, along with existing investors TPG Rise Climate, Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), Capricorn’s Technology Impact Funds, Coatue, Energy Impact Partners (EIP), MIT’s The Engine Ventures, NGP, Temasek, GIC, Prelude Ventures, Claure Group, Gigascale Capital, Blindspot Ventures, and VamosVentures.
Joseph Fath, Portfolio Manager of T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund, Inc., said:
“Form Energy’s multi-day energy storage solutions are positioned to be critical to ensuring an energy transition that is reliable and affordable. The company is at the forefront of driving decarbonization in the power and commercial and industrial sectors. We’re thrilled to collaborate with the Form Energy team as they embark on their next chapter of breakthrough advancements and continued growth.”
The funds will be used to further develop commercial production of its storage system, Form Energy said. In May, 2023, the company broke ground on Form Factory 1, its first high-volume manufacturing facility in Weirton, West Virginia. A year later, the company completed the construction of the 550,000-square-foot facility, installed new manufacturing equipment, and initiated trial production of its breakthrough iron-air batteries. With over 900 employees, including 300 at Form Factory 1, the company plans to grow its team further as it ramps up high-volume production in the coming months. By 2028, Form Factory 1 is projected to have more than 1 million square-feet of manufacturing space, employ at least 750 people, and have an annual manufacturing capacity of 500 megawatts, at minimum.
Mateo Jaramillo, CEO and co-founder of Form Energy, said:
“We are deeply grateful to T. Rowe Price for leading our Series F fundraising round and look forward to collaborating with them as we expand our operations to meet the surging demand for our product. We are also excited to welcome GE Vernova to our growing group of investors and extend our sincere thanks to our long-standing partners, whose continued trust and support have been crucial to our success and growth over the years.”
The new capital brings Form Energy’s total funds raised to date at over $1.2B. In addition to participating in the financing round, GE Vernova and Form Energy have signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding areas of strategic collaboration to support Form Energy as it continues to increase manufacturing operations and commercial deployments of its iron-air battery systems.
Jessica Uhl, President of GE Vernova, said:
“To meet the urgent demands to modernize the grid and enable higher renewable energy generation, it’s essential to speed up the rollout of affordable technologies that can decarbonize the power grid while ensuring it remains secure, reliable, and resilient. We’re proud to collaborate with Form Energy, sharing our deep manufacturing and engineering expertise, to support their ambitious journey to scale in the U.S. and globally. Form’s innovative 100-hour iron-air battery systems can be a game-changer, and we’re excited to play a role in helping them achieve global impact.”