Terra One, a startup specializing in grid-connected battery energy storage solutions, secured $7.5 million in seed funding, led by PT1, an early-stage venture capital firm specializing in real asset technologies, and neosfer, an early-stage investor associated with Commerzbank. Other participants include 468 Capital, N26 cofounder Maximilian Tayenthal, as well as the scout funds of renowned entities like Andreessen Horowitz and Hedosophia.
The company intends to strategically utilize the funds to bolster its team, particularly by hiring skilled engineers and project finance experts. Moreover, a significant portion of the investment will be directed towards further development of Terra One’s proprietary AI software.
Unlike traditional battery producers, Terra One adopts a unique business model. Rather than manufacturing batteries in-house, the company procures lithium-ion batteries from established manufacturers such as Tesla and CATL. These batteries are strategically placed in locations proximate to transmission lines or substations and integrated into the grid via collaboration with one of the 800 grid operators in Germany.
Terra One says it has 300 projects in the pipeline, the majority of which are waiting for planning permits and grid access before they can be developed.
“To put it into perspective, the city of Potsdam, 100k inhabitants outside of Berlin consumes 90 megawatts per hour. So if you have a battery for 500 megawatts, that could power Potsdam for over five hours,” says Terra One cofounder and CFO Thomas Antonioli,
“Batteries are relatively new and are more complicated to build and run than, say, a solar panel,” he added. “So there are many pockets of capital who would like to deploy capital (in batteries) but have not been able to do so because there’s no access. We aim to provide this kind of conduit for them to invest in batteries.”
According to Mercom’s recently released Q1 2024 Funding and M&A report for Storage & Smart Grid. VC funding for Energy Storage companies increased by 9% YoY, with $1.2 billion in 23 deals in Q1 2024 compared to $1.1 billion raised in 19 deals in Q1 2023.
Last year, Field Energy, a developer and operator of battery energy storage systems, secured a £200 million (~$257 million) investment from DIF Capital Partners via their DIF Infrastructure VII fund. The investment will allow Field Energy to accelerate the development and buildout of its 4.5 GWh pipeline of grid-scale battery energy storage projects in the UK and Western Europe.
