Allegro Energy, a developer of aqueous-based redox flow battery energy storage solutions, has closed A$17.5 million (~$11.6 million) in Series A funding.
This funding round was led by global investment firm The Grantham Foundation and joined by Chicago-based early-stage tech investment firm Lightbank. Other investors participating in the round included Australia-based Origin Energy, Melt Ventures, and Impact Ventures.
Dr. Thomas Nann, co-founder and CEO, stated that the funds will accelerate the company’s expansion of manufacturing capabilities. Allegro focuses on water-based Redox Flow Batteries (RFB) and supercapacitors powered by the company’s proprietary microemulsion electrolyte.
“Renewable energy storage is undoubtedly a huge challenge in the energy transition. Adopting Allegro Energy technology will be critical to solving this challenge,” said Trent Bagnall, managing partner at Melt Ventures.
Integrated Power Generator and Retailer Origin Energy acquired a 5% stake in the company last year. The agreement provided options for Origin to support Allegro throughout its growth and development. Once an initial pilot 100 kW (800 kWh) Redox Flow Battery module is deployed at Eraring, a 5 MW (60 MWh) battery is planned, which is expected to provide 12 hours of energy storage capacity. The pilot project is expected to be completed later this year.
According to Mercom’s recently released 1H and Q2 2024 Funding and M&A report for Energy Storage and Smart Grid, VC funding for Energy Storage companies in 1H 2024 came to $2.4 billion in 48 deals, a 37% decrease year-over-year compared to $3.8 billion in 43 deals in 1H 2023.
Early this year, AQUABATTERY, a Dutch startup specializing in developing saltwater long-duration energy storage solutions, secured a €6 million (~$6.4 million) seed investment led by EIT InnoEnergy and supported by InnovationQuarter, Invest-NL, Init Power, and a group of business angels.
