Forget EVs — stationary batteries are getting all the buzz, and investment, in the U.S. these days.
Startup Lunar Energy is the latest example. The six-year-old company, which builds battery packs for homeowners in California, Georgia, and Washington, said Wednesday it has completed two large funding rounds. The startup shared it raised a previously unannounced $130 million Series C and a $102 million Series D. The Series C was led by Activate Capital, while the Series D was led by B Capital and Prelude Ventures.
The startup plans to use the funds to scale manufacturing to 20,000 units by the end of this year before ramping up to 100,000 by the end of 2028. In total, Lunar has raised more than $500 million from investors.
Stationary storage has become a bright spot for battery manufacturers that have been subject to policy whiplash after the Trump administration and GOP-controlled Congress gutted large parts of the Inflation Reduction Act, which had incentivized companies to build batteries in the U.S. to supply the automotive industry.
As the grid strains under the weight of an increasingly electrified economy — along with the boom in data center demand — grid-connected batteries have become one of the most versatile ways to boost its resiliency.
Lunar can call on its fleet of batteries, which come in 5 kilowatt-hour modules between 15 kilowatt-hours and 30 kilowatt-hours, to deliver juice to the grid when needed. Its virtual power plant (VPP) software can also control EV chargers and appliances, allowing it to both supply electrons while tamping down demand.
Such VPPs are expected to be able to replace costly and polluting peaking power plants in a matter of years.
Competition in the space has been heating up lately. In October, Base Power raised $1 billion, less than six months after raising a $200 million round for its residential battery-based VPP. Tesla operates its own Powerwall-based VPP, too.
Outside of residential settings, Tesla’s storage business has been growing in leaps and bounds, while former Tesla executive JB Straubel’s startup Redwood Materials has launched its own energy storage division. Even Ford wants in on the action.
Batteries have transformed from bit players just five years ago to major assets on the grid. Their modularity makes them quick to build and easy to deploy, and while they’re still costly relative to some fossil fuel power sources, prices have been dropping quickly. No wonder investors are piling in.