Dive Brief:
- Energy storage startup Ambri has received $35 million in venture capital from Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures and French energy company Total, as well as new investors KLP Enterprises, Building Insurance Bern and others. The Series C Round adds to Ambri's $15 million B Round from Bill Gates, Khosla Ventures and Total in 2012, as well as Massachusetts Institute of Technology seed funding.
- The funds will allow Ambri to start building its first commercial-scale liquid metal battery prototypes. The company has plans for pilots in Hawaii, New York, Alaska, and Massachusetts, and has received interest from Hawaiian Electric, ConEd, and First Wind.
- Ambri's liquid metal battery uses a technology called Reversible Ambipolar Electrolysis. The battery compares favorably with lithium-ion batteries: it is relatively cheap to produce, is made of commonly found metals, and has a 25-30 year life cycle, which is far longer than lithium-ion batteries.
Dive Insight:
If it can become viable and cost-effective, energy storage is the clear answer to solving the intermittence of renewable generation. Ambri is just one of several high-potential energy storage plays soon to hit the marketplace, and Bill Gates has invested in a few.
When Ambri makes it to market, one of its key areas of focus will be Hawaii, indicated Ambri CEO Phil Guidice. Hawaii currently dumps nearly a third of its wind generation because of poor storage options—something that would be remedied with a good battery. Remarkably, solar-plus-storage has already reached grid parity in the island state, where electricity prices are far above the national average.
