Base Power Secures $1 Billion to Transform Energy Storage Market

Residential energy storage startup Base Power has successfully raised $1 billion in Series C financing, primarily backed by the venture capital fund Addition. This substantial funding round includes re-investments from several prominent investors, such as Trust Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Thrive Capital, Lightspeed, Andreessen Horowitz, Altimeter, StepStone, Elad Gil, 137 Ventures, Terrain, and Waybury. New significant investors also joined the round, including Ribbit, CapitalG, Spark, BOND, Lowercarbon, Avenir, Glade Brook, Positive Sum, and 1789.

The company, headquartered in Austin, Texas, has rapidly deployed over 100 MWh of residential battery capacity within a short span of less than two years. Base Power is currently establishing its first energy storage and power electronics manufacturing facility at the site of the former Austin American-Statesman printing press in downtown Austin. This factory represents a crucial step in the company’s strategy to enhance local manufacturing capabilities.

Base Power has also qualified for Texas’s Aggregated Distributed Energy Resource (ADER) programme, which allows distributed battery systems to be aggregated and bid directly into the grid. The company’s flagship product, the Gen 1 battery, boasts an impressive capacity of 11.4 kW/25 kWh and meets several industry certifications, including UL 1973, UL 1741, UL 9540, and UL 9540A.

In a previous funding round in April 2023, Base Power raised $200 million, with contributions from the same key investors. Justin Lopas, Chief Operating Officer and co-founder, expressed the company’s ambitious vision in announcing the latest financing. He stated, “This factory in Austin is our first, and we’re already planning for our second. We’re building the infrastructure, systems, tools, processes, supporting software, and team that’s reindustrialising America and reinventing the grid.”

CEO and co-founder Zach Dell emphasized the current opportunity to “reinvent” the power system. This vision is being put into action as the company aims to install its systems swiftly across residential areas. For instance, taking a median-priced home in the Austin area as an example, Base Power’s Gen 1 system is roughly $300 cheaper upfront compared to competitors.

Base Power provides a membership model that includes a monthly fee of $19 for one battery, which increases to $29 for two batteries. The starting cost for two batteries is $995, aligning with the competitive landscape for residential energy storage solutions.

As Base Power continues to secure significant investments and expand its manufacturing capabilities, it positions itself as a key player in the evolving market of residential energy storage systems, aiming to make sustainable energy solutions more accessible to consumers.