Gridtential raises USD 12m to produce advanced AGM battery

US battery developer Gridtential Energy Inc said it has raised USD 12 million (EUR 9.9m) in a recent funding round to finance a new production line of advanced lead reference batteries based on proprietary Silicon Joule technology.

The funding was led by US-based venture capital firm 1955 Capital, with backing from Silicon Valley Bank, August Capital co-founder David Marquardt, ReneSola Ltd (NYSE:SOL) CEO Yumin Liu and existing investors East Penn Manufacturing, Crown Battery and the Roda Group.

Gridtential has developed an advanced Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) battery technology Silicon Joule for powering homes, vehicles and hybrid cars as an alternative to lithium-ion. The technology replaces the metal grids in conventional lead batteries with specially processed silicon wafers and a stacked-cell architecture to reduce weight, increase power performance and extend cycle life.

The new line will include factory-ready single-block 24V deep-cycle lead battery, touted as the world's first.

Gridtential says Silicon Joule can enable the production of low-cost, safe, high-voltage, recyclable batteries using existing factory lines. The company secured manufacturing partners in East Penn, Crown and Leoch, which are fully licensed to mass-produce Silicon Joule batteries, while nine more are piloting the technology.

"Providing affordable energy storage to power homes and vehicles is an urgent priority. We can't afford to wait for technology that hasn't made it out of the lab. With Silicon Joule, we can use today's battery manufacturing and recycling facilities to reduce vehicle emissions and put renewable energy storage into homes, in high volumes, right now," said Gridtential CEO John Barton.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.829)

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