Aquion Energy Raises $30 Million for Scalable Energy Storage Solutions
Aquion Energy, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of batteries and energy storage systems, announced that it has closed a $30 million round of venture financing. Foundation Capital led the round with participation from returning investor Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as well as new investors Advanced Technology Ventures (ATV) and TriplePoint Capital. Coincident with this financing, Steve Vassallo of Foundation Capital and Bill Wiberg of ATV have joined the Aquion board of directors. Prior to this round, Aquion had been supported with funding from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Aquion states that its unique technologies and products, which originated from research at Carnegie Mellon University, have been specifically developed to meet the demanding requirements of both small and large-scale energy storage applications. Aquion says that its products provide compelling results on key performance factors including cycle/calendar life, round trip efficiency, discharge abuse tolerance, capital costs, maintenance costs, and safety. In addition, Aquion says that its batteries are inherently green and contain no hazardous materials, corrosive acids or noxious fumes.
"Energy storage applications, particularly at grid-scale, provide enormous market opportunities for companies with truly enabling solutions," said Steve Vassallo of Foundation Capital. "We see Aquion’s novel energy storage technology as a game-changer in several key markets and are delighted to be part of their world-class team."
"The Aquion team is committed to changing the way the world uses energy by delivering safe, reliable, and economical energy storage solutions," said Scott Pearson, Aquion’s CEO. "We are very excited about our new investment partners and the assistance, both financial and operational, they can provide the company as we launch our first products and begin to scale the company globally".
"We have been tracking Aquion’s progress since its founding and have been consistently impressed with the team’s ability to convert innovation into meaningful commercial differentiation," said Bill Wiberg, General Partner at ATV.
In the fall of 2011 Aquion will begin shipping its first pre-production energy storage systems to external testing facilities and selected strategic partners. In addition, Aquion is currently in the process of identifying and selecting an appropriate site for its first high volume factory in the United States. This state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is expected to become operational in 2013 and create more than 500 jobs across a wide range of employment categories.
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