Funding to Accelerate Commercial Deployment of
Fail-safe, Point-of-Use Lithium-Ion Battery Storage Technology
Viridi Parente, Inc. (Viridi), a leader in developing safe,
resilient, point-of-use battery storage technology, has raised
$94.695 million in a Series C funding round. This round of funding,
in which Viridi is valued, post-money, at $700 million, marks the
next step toward the company’s vision to manufacture fail-safe,
point-of-use lithium-ion battery technology at scale.
The Series C round was led by existing investor B. Thomas
Golisano, an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civic leader who has
demonstrated an ongoing dedication to building innovative
businesses. New investors include Ashtead Group/Sunbelt Rentals, a
leader in the equipment rental industry providing a highly
diversified offering of equipment and solutions that service a
broad customer base with more than 1,025 locations supporting a
rental fleet of $11 billion, and National Grid Partners, the
investment arm of National Grid, one of the world’s largest
investor-owned energy companies.
According to Jon M. Williams, Chairman and CEO, Viridi Parente,
Inc., “Point-of-use energy storage has the potential to more than
double the delivered capacity of our entire energy transmission
system without additional investment in new infrastructure.
Passenger vehicles currently represent roughly 3% of the world’s
total GDP. The majority of the innovation around this technology is
focused on battery powered vehicles, however, technology designed
for cars does not translate into other sectors of the economy where
safety, resilience and cycle life are the leading design
requirements. Viridi is developing safe, resilient and
cost-effective point-of-use lithium-ion battery systems that will
power the other 97% of our economy.”
Viridi’s Green Machine brand has set the standard as the first
lithium-ion pack system to meet the demands of the construction and
heavy industrial markets, with systems that feature long cycle
life, resilient physical design and completely self-contained
architecture. Green Machine has over 250,000 hours of field use
with actual customers on its portable lithium-ion battery systems,
in a market projected to reach USD $205 billion in North America by
2025.
Viridi’s Volta Energy brand offers stationary lithium-ion
battery pack systems designed and tested to be fail-safe for
installation in occupied spaces. Systems can be configured to
provide from 50 kWh to 5 MW of distributed energy storage at the
point-of-use.
Applications range from data centers and manufacturing, to
residential and commercial, to medical and research facilities —
anywhere that fail-safe, resilient, renewable energy is needed.
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), energy storage
installations will reach over one gigawatt-hour by 2030 and will
require more than $262 billion of investment, with about one
quarter of installations to be located at homes and businesses.
B. Thomas Golisano said, “We are excited to be part of Viridi’s
next growth phase. In a short period of time the market demand has
been extraordinary, therefore the need to increase production to
meet this demand is imperative. This funding round should not only
help satisfy near-term demand but set the company up for
longer-term growth.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Viridi Parente to bring
products to the market that meet the increasing demands for
non-fossil fuel dependent equipment our customers are seeking in
order to achieve their carbon reduction commitments,” stated Brad
Coverdale, Sunbelt Rental’s Vice President of Fleet and
Procurement.
“At National Grid, we know decarbonizing transport is critical
to achieving net zero,” said Lisa Lambert, Chief Technology &
Innovation Officer, National Grid and President & Founder,
National Grid Partners. “And while momentum’s been gaining in
consumer cars and trucks, there’s not been nearly enough focus on
industrial vehicles, which create significant amounts of greenhouse
gases. National Grid Partners is excited to support the Viridi
Parente team, and we look forward to helping them seize this
emerging market opportunity.”
With safety being a key factor to the success of point-of-use
battery storage, Viridi Parente is working with KULR Technology
Group, Inc. (NYSE American: KULR) to combine its patented safety
technology with Viridi’s battery architecture, creating a pack
system that is safe enough to install indoors and durable enough to
withstand the outdoor elements. KULR’s technology is being used on
the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover and other mission-critical NASA
applications.
“Volta Energy’s pack architecture uses the same carbon fiber
thermal management technologies we developed for NASA’s demanding
space program, including crewed missions. Viridi has not only
innovated fail-safe pack design using these new technologies, they
have innovated methods for testing pack safety in extreme
conditions that no one else has even attempted. We’re very excited
to be part of the technology to bring fail-safe lithium-ion energy
storage to point-of-use customers. This strategic investment by
Sunbelt Rentals and National Grid means that Viridi has the
channels that can scale this technology into a massive market,”
said KULR’s CEO, Michael Mo.
About Viridi Parente
Viridi Parente, Inc. (Viridi) is a point-of-use lithium-ion
battery technology company based in Buffalo, New York, that is
reimagining energy storage. Viridi’s innovative, fail-safe battery
technology, developed from materials used for aerospace and
military applications, is the only design in the market that can be
safely installed and operated in nearly any environment or
location, bringing fail-safe battery storage technology into
applications that have historically been dominated by fossil fuel
and lead-acid systems. Through its Green Machine brand, Viridi is
bringing fully renewable mobile energy solutions to products in
construction, waste disposal, last-mile delivery, and other
portable industrial markets.
Through its Volta Energy brand, Viridi brings stationary,
point-of-use battery technology that is fail-safe, adaptable, and
reliable to industrial, medical, commercial, municipal, and
residential building applications. Viridi’s innovation extends to
creating social as well as economic value, by repurposing abandoned
manufacturing sites, located in economically depressed urban areas,
and creating jobs in these challenged communities where they are
needed most. Learn more at: www.viridiparente.com.
About B. Thomas Golisano/Grand Oaks Capital
Grand Oaks Capital is an investment firm founded by B. Thomas
Golisano that makes strategic investments in both public and
private securities.
About Sunbelt Rentals
We MAKE IT HAPPEN! With a passionate team of 17,000 rental
experts, a growing network of more than 1,025 locations and an
extensive equipment fleet that exceeds $11 billion, Sunbelt Rentals
helps professionals and do-it-yourselfers get things done. With a
highly diversified offering of equipment, solutions, and services
available, we assist customers throughout North America extend
their capabilities, complete projects on-time and handle times of
crisis. No matter if you are in commercial, industrial,
residential, or municipal industries, we are constantly advancing
the idea of what an equipment company can do for its customers.
Visit sunbeltrentals.com to find out what we can do for you.
About National Grid Partners
National Grid Partners (NGP) is the venture investment and
innovation arm of National Grid plc., one of the largest
investor-owned energy companies in the world. NGP invests for
strategic and financial impact and leads companywide disruptive
innovation efforts. The organization provides a multi-functional
approach to building startups, including innovation (new business
creation), incubation, corporate venture capital, business
development and venture acceleration. NGP is headquartered in
Silicon Valley and has offices in Boston, London, and New York.
Visit ngpartners.com or follow us at www.twitter.com/@ngpartners
and www.linkedin.com/showcase/national-grid-partners.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220111006009/en/
Wendy Prabhu, Mercom Communications Tel: 1-512-215-4452 Email:
viridi@mercomcapital.com
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