XL Batteries, a provider of long-duration grid-scale energy storage solutions, raised $10 million in a Seed-2 round which Catalus Capital led, with additional investment from SIP Global, Xerox Ventures, and existing investors Jeffrey Schwarz, Joel Greenblatt, and Robert Goldstein.
The company has developed and patented an organic flow battery technology to address the growing need for long-duration energy storage. They have secured patents for its core chemistry in the US and Japan and awaiting approval in other countries.
“The majority of grid-scale batteries operating today are lithium-ion batteries, but the problem is they are not ideal for renewables integration, particularly at longer durations,” said Dr. Thomas Sisto, founder and CEO of XL Batteries.
According to the company, its flow battery architecture, combined with its proprietary chemistry, offers highly stable, pH-neutral, non-corrosive, scalable, longer-duration storage with a 20+ year lifetime at a low cost of less than $0.05/kWh.
“Decarbonizing the North American grid, as well as grids worldwide, will require substantial innovative storage solutions,” said XL Advisor David Christian, previously Chief Innovation Officer of Dominion Energy.
Commenting on the news, CEO Dr. Thomas said that the company plans to utilize the funding to deliver the recently signed pilot system to Stolthaven Terminals by the end of 2023. It also aims to supply a 500 kW/5 MWh commercial system by 2025.
According to Mercom’s Annual And Q4 2022 Funding and M&A Report for Storage, Grid & Efficiency. VC funding for energy storage companies decreased by 34%, with $5.8 billion in 2022 compared to $8.8 billion in 2021. Ionblox – which develops and commercializes high-energy density lithium-ion batteries for ground and aerial electric vehicles – recently announced the second close of its Series B funding round, totaling $32 million. Lilium and Applied Ventures led the additional financing round, with participation from Temasek and Catalus Capital. The company announced its initial Series B in October last year, raising $24 million.
