First System Delivered to California and Will
be Commissioned in October
ESS Inc. (“ESS” or “the Company”), a U.S. manufacturer of
long-duration batteries, today announced that it has entered into a
framework agreement with SB Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of
SoftBank Group Corp, to deploy two gigawatt-hours (2 GWh) of ESS
batteries through 2026. The agreement demonstrates ESS and SB
Energy’s shared commitment and vision of a global shift to
renewables and decarbonization of the grid. ESS recently announced
it would become a public company through a merger with a special
purpose acquisition company, ACON S2 Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:
STWO).
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210930005507/en/
Four Energy Warehouses preparing to ship
at the ESS loading dock (Photo: ESS Inc.)
In connection with the agreement, the first ESS system has
already been delivered to an SB Energy location in Davis,
California, and will be commissioned in October 2021. SB Energy
plans to install additional ESS flow battery systems to complement
its expanding portfolio of solar power projects in Texas and
California, two of the fastest-growing markets for long-duration
storage in the U.S. With its iron-, salt-, and water-based
batteries, ESS systems help customers enhance grid resiliency while
eliminating the risk of the batteries catching fire, particularly
in wildfire-prone areas such as California.
“ESS’s unique ability to manufacture and ship batteries using
iron, salt, and water is a game-changer, enabling SB Energy to
offer our customers safe, sustainable and low-cost energy storage
today,” said Rich Hossfeld, Co-Chief Executive Officer at SB Energy
and ESS Board Member. “Long-duration storage is absolutely critical
to providing flexible, affordable renewable energy at scale and
aligns perfectly with the Biden administration’s ambitious clean
energy initiatives. SB Energy is excited to continue its
partnership with ESS and deploy the company’s domestically
manufactured batteries into the vast and rapidly growing market for
energy storage.”
“This agreement exemplifies the accelerating demand for
long-duration energy storage and reinforces our strong partnership
with SB Energy to supply safe and sustainable technology built in
the U.S.,” said Eric Dresselhuys, ESS CEO. “The energy transition
will require massive amounts of storage capacity in the coming
years and we are focused on scaling up our manufacturing capacity
to help meet that demand. We are fortunate to have such great
partners as SB Energy and Breakthrough Energy Ventures and look
forward to a long and expanding partnership.”
“Long-duration energy storage is a critical innovation needed to
support the world’s transition to clean, renewable energy. BEV is
proud to have supported Eric and his team since our original
investment in ESS back in 2019. Today we remain confident that ESS
is well-positioned to scale its systems globally, especially
partnering with SB Energy,” said Carmichael Roberts, Breakthrough
Energy Ventures.
ESS also recently announced that it had closed an order with
Enel Green Power España to deliver 17 ESS Energy Warehouse™ battery
systems with a combined capacity of 8.5 MWh. The project will
support a solar farm in Spain as a part of a broader EU-wide
engagement, providing resilience for the local power grid.
A video highlighting ESS’s leading battery storage technology
and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities can be found
here.
SB Energy has grown quickly to become a leading solar, storage
and technology platform across the U.S. SB Energy owns five
utility-scale solar projects totaling 1.7 gigawatts (GW) in Texas
and California, which are currently in operation or construction,
and is developing a multi-gigawatt pipeline of domestic solar and
storage projects to be built over the next few years.
About ESS, Inc.
ESS Inc. designs, builds and deploys environmentally
sustainable, low-cost, iron flow batteries for long-duration
commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications requiring
from 4 to 12 hours of flexible energy capacity. The Energy
Warehouse™ and Energy Center™ use earth-abundant iron, salt, and
water for the electrolyte, resulting in an environmentally benign,
long-life energy storage solution for the world’s renewable energy
infrastructure. Established in 2011, ESS Inc. enables project
developers, utilities, and commercial and industrial facility
owners to make the transition to more flexible non-lithium-ion
storage that is better suited for the grid and the environment. For
more information visit www.essinc.com.
About SB Energy
SB Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp., is
a leading utility-scale solar, energy storage, and technology
platform. We develop, construct, and own and operate some of the
largest and most technically advanced renewable projects across the
United States. SB Energy’s mission is to provide flexible renewable
energy at scale, accelerating the global energy transition, and
benefiting our planet, customers, communities, and people. For more
information, visit SBEnergy.com.
About ACON S2 Acquisition Corp.
STWO (NASDAQ: STWO) is a blank check company whose business
purpose is to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset
acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business
combination with one or more businesses. STWO has a focus on
businesses that employ a strategic approach to sustainability; that
is, a business whose pursuit of sustainability—environmental,
social and/or economic—is core to driving its performance and
success. STWO’s sponsor is an affiliate of ACON Investments,
L.L.C.
About ACON Investments, L.L.C.
ACON Investments, L.L.C., headquartered in Washington DC, is an
international private equity firm investing in North America, Latin
America and Europe. Founded in 1996, ACON Investments, L.L.C. has
managed approximately $6 billion of capital to date and has
professionals in Washington DC, Los Angeles, Mexico City, São
Paulo, Bogotá and Madrid. For more information, visit
www.aconinvestments.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains certain forward-looking statements,
including statements regarding STWO’s, ESS’ or their management
teams’ expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies
regarding the future. The words “anticipate”, “believe”,
“continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intends”, “may”,
“might”, “plan”, “possible”, “potential”, “predict”, “project”,
“should”, “would” and similar expressions may identify
forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not
mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking
statements are based on STWO’s and ESS’ current expectations and
beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects
on STWO, ESS or any successor entity of the proposed transactions.
Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially
from the forward-looking statements in this presentation, including
but not limited to: (i) the risk that the proposed transactions may
not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely
affect the price of STWO’s securities, (ii) the failure to satisfy
the conditions to the consummation of the proposed transactions,
(iii) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance
that could give rise to the termination of the business
combination, (iv) the effect of the announcement or pendency of the
proposed transactions on ESS’ business relationships, operating
results and business generally, (v) risks that the proposed
transactions disrupt current plans and operations of ESS, (vi)
changes in the competitive and highly regulated industries in which
ESS plans to operate, variations in operating performance across
competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting ESS’
business and changes in the combined capital structure and (vii)
the ability to implement business plans, forecasts and other
expectations after the completion of the proposed transactions, and
identify and realize additional opportunities. There can be no
assurance that the future developments affecting STWO, ESS or any
successor entity of the proposed transactions will be those that we
have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number
of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond STWO’s or ESS’
control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or
performance to be materially different from those expressed or
implied by these forward-looking statements. You should carefully
consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and
uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of STWO’s
registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-248515), the
registration statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-257232) filed in
connection with the business combination, and other documents filed
by STWO from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and
address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual events and results to differ materially from those contained
in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, STWO
and ESS are not undertaking any obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Neither STWO nor ESS gives any
assurance that either the STWO or ESS, or the combined company,
will achieve its expectations.
Important Information About the Proposed Business Combination
and Where to Find It
STWO has filed, and the SEC has declared effective, a
registration statement on Form S-4 containing a definitive proxy
statement/prospectus of STWO relating to the proposed Business
Combination. STWO has mailed the definitive proxy
statement/prospectus and other relevant documents to its
shareholders. Investors, STWO’s shareholders and other interested
persons are advised to read the definitive proxy
statement/prospectus in connection with STWO’s solicitation of
proxies for the General Meeting to be held to approve the Business
Combination as these materials will contain important information
about ESS and STWO and the proposed Business Combination. The
definitive proxy statement/prospectus has been mailed to the
shareholders of STWO as of the record date of August 16, 2021;
shareholders that hold their shares in registered form are entitled
to vote their shares held on the date of the meeting. Shareholders
are also able to obtain copies of the definitive proxy
statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC,
without charge, at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov, or by
directing a request to: 1133 Connecticut Avenue NW, Ste. 700
Washington, DC 20036.
Participants in the Solicitation
STWO and its directors and executive officers may be deemed
participants in the solicitation of proxies from STWO’s
shareholders with respect to the Business Combination. A list
of the names of those directors and executive officers and a
description of their interests in STWO are included in the
definitive proxy statement/prospectus for the proposed Business
Combination and are available at www.sec.gov.
ESS and its directors and executive officers may also be
deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the
shareholders of STWO in connection with the proposed Business
Combination. A list of the names of such directors and
executive officers and information regarding their interests in the
proposed Business Combination are included in the definitive proxy
statement/prospectus for the proposed Business Combination.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210930005507/en/
For ESS Inc. Investors: Erik Bylin investors@essinc.com
Media: Eugene Hunt Trevi Communications for ESS Inc.
gene@trevicomm.com 978-750-0333 x.101
For SB Energy: Sard Verbinnen & Co Hannah Dunning / Benjamin
Spicehandler SoftBank-SVC@SARDVERB.com
For ACON S2: Emily Claffey/Julie Rudnick/Kevin Siegel Sard
Verbinnen & Co STWO-SVC@sardverb.com
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