September 7, 2017: Bipolar battery developer Gridtential Energy announced on September 7 a new round of funding — for $5 million — some of which was from 1955 Capital, a venture capital company.
The series ‘B’ funding follows $6 million in January that came from battery manufacturers East Penn, Crown Battery, Leoch, Power-Sonic and The Roda Group.
1955 Capital was founded by Andrew Chung. He says the firm’s initial focus will be to enable developing countries — beginning with China — to adopt western technologies.
Chung will take a seat on Gridtential’s board of directors.
“Gridtential’s breakthrough approach to energy storage addresses the booming demand for vehicle electrification and grid-scale storage in China and other emerging markets, which fits our investment model at 1955,” says Chung.
“It is rare to see so many leading battery producers cooperatively invest in a single company, which underscores the tremendous potential the industry sees in Gridtential’s Silicon Joule battery technology in the US, China and beyond.”
Gridtential, with battery veteran Ray Kubis as chairman and Christian Beekhuis as CEO, has developed a bipolar technology that the company says adds lithium-like advantages to lead-acid batteries, such as fast charging and discharging, deep depth of discharge and long cycle life.
“We are in a strong position to accelerate Silicon Joule commercialization efforts to enable them to meet the mounting industry demand for 48V systems in addition to other diverse industrial applications, including back-up power and grid storage,” said Kubis.
“It is also encouraging to see European automakers accelerate their push to 48V hybrid solutions in a concerted effort to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions.”
Beekhuis said the addition of Chung to the board would be vital in expanding Gridtential’s commercial activities in Asia.