EnerVenue, a US-based battery manufacturer, has raised $100M in a Series A round backed by Stanford University to accelerate production of its unique nickel-hydrogen batteries, R&D efforts, and build a gigafactory in the United States. Oilfield services provider Schlumberger and petroleum and natural gas supplier Saudi Aramco co-led the round through New Energy and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, respectively.
Additionally, EnerVenue announced the framework for a major distribution and manufacturing agreement with Schlumberger New Energy to significantly expand the global availability of EnerVenue batteries.
Energy storage solutions are critical to the evolution of the energy mix as the energy transition demands greater contribution from renewable sources. Renewable energy generation is expected to account for more than half the world’s power supply by 2035. The focus on expanding electrification is accelerating the need for the large-scale deployment of safe, cost-effective, sustainable, and reliable stationary energy storage solutions. There is a rapidly growing market for such solutions across utility-scale grid storage, off-grid commercial and industrial storage, and residential sectors.
EnerVenue is a Freemont, California-based energy tech startup that builds durable, flexible, and safe energy storage solutions for the clean energy revolution. The technology itself – nickel-hydrogen batteries – is based on long-lasting and maintenance-free energy storage proven over decades of use under the most extreme aerospace conditions – including powering the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope.
According to EnerVenue, nickel-hydrogen has a number of key benefits over lithium-ion. It can withstand super-high and super-low temperatures; it requires very little to no maintenance and has a far longer lifespan. Following breakthrough material science discoveries that significantly reduce the cost and increases the raw material availability of the NASA-originated technology, EnerVenue launched in 2020 to bring the battery’s established advantages to grid-scale and other stationary power applications.
“With the durability, flexibility, reliability, and safety of its batteries, EnerVenue is delivering a unique and future-proof solution for grid-scale energy storage,” said Jorg Heinemann, CEO, EnerVenue. “We have proven the advantages that our next-generation nickel-hydrogen battery delivers and are excited to accelerate our journey forward with Series A backing and our agreement with Schlumberger.”
EnerVenue nickel-hydrogen batteries are developed for large-scale renewable and storage applications. It operates in -40° to 60°C (140°F) ambient temperatures, has over a 30-year lifespan, and is designed for 30,000 cycles without experiencing a decline in performance. Built with no toxic materials and easily separable parts, batteries are designed for 100% recyclability. Other benefits include no fire or thermal runaway risk; low-cost materials; energy density per square foot is equal to or better than lithium-ion batteries; and ultra-low operating costs. Nickel-hydrogen batteries have completed more than 200 million cell hours in orbital spacecraft and more than 100,000 charges/discharge cycles.
