Energy storage firm Form Energy raises USD 450m in fresh funds

Author: 401(K) 2012 on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

US energy storage systems developer Form Energy Inc has raised USD 450 million (EUR 455.6m) in a Series E financing round, with the fresh funds coming at a time when the start-up is looking for a site to build its first full-scale battery manufacturing facility.

The fund-raiser was led by local private equity firm TPG’s global impact investing platform TPG Rise. It attracted two new backers -- Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), according to a statement published earlier this week.

“Over the last five years, through rigorous R&D and product engineering, our 100-hour iron-air battery product is ready to scale. The Series E funding will accelerate our ability to responsibly build a globally competitive U.S. battery manufacturing supply chain and advance American innovation,” said Form Energy’s co-founder and chief executive Mateo Jaramillo.

The Series E round also saw participation from existing investors, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), Capricorn Investment Group, Coatue, Energy Impact Partners (EIP), MIT’s The Engine, NGP ETP, Temasek, Prelude Ventures as well as ArcelorMittal.

Luxembourg-based steel giant ArcelorMittal in a separate statement said that it has invested a further USD 17.5 million in Form Energy as part of the fundraising round via its XCarb Innovation fund. This is the steel manufacturer’s second investment in the US firm after its initial bet of USD 25 million announced in July 2021.

Established in 2017, Form Energy is developing and commercialising a low-cost, iron-air battery technology that is capable of storing electricity for 100 hours at system costs competitive with legacy power plants. The Boston, Massachusetts-based firm is in the process of selecting a site for its first plant, having shortlisted three US states, with a final decision expected to be announced before the end of 2022.

(USD 1 = EUR 1.012)

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