Stefan Heuser

Last week Peak Energy announced its $55M oversubscribed series A, which Xora Innovation led, joined by lead seed investor Eclipse (Greg Reichow, Ryan Gibson), as well as TDK Ventures (Anil Achyuta), TechEnergy Ventures (Alejandro Solé), Doral Energy-Tech Ventures (Roee Furman), Lachy Groom, and Tishman Speyer (David Aron). Special thanks to 🌱🤝🌍 Anil Achyuta for the original introduction.   Peak is commercializing a new standard in grid-scale energy storage systems based on sodium-ion batteries. Peak’s market is benefiting from the twin tailwinds of renewables and AI, and the company has just the right founding team to scale at "ludicrous speed".   Landon Mossburg, Co-Founder and CEO, is one of the most phenomenal team builders we have had the privilege of backing. He brings deep experience in building battery gigafactories from his prior role as Chief Automation Officer of Northvolt, where he didn’t shy away from sleeping on factory floors for months in Northern Europe.   We have a special place in our hearts for entrepreneurs who have the grit to spend 10 years+ building deep tech startups from the foundational stage to commercialization. Cameron Dales, Co-Founder, President and Chief Commercial Officer, has done it not only once, but twice, at Symyx Technologies and Enovix (current market cap $2.65B).   Liam O'Connor O’Connor, Co-Founder and COO, previously scaled major portions of Tesla’s and Apple’s supply chains, flying over 500,000 miles a year when required. Liam has a deep understanding of what it takes to build resilient supply chains in hypergrowth mode, having previously scaled from <$5B to $40B in spend over a matter of a few years.   The climate tech sector is in need of more entrepreneurs who truly understand what building on a massive industrial scale means. We couldn’t be more excited that Landon, Cam and Liam have decided to apply their talents to enabling grid-scale energy storage.

207

13 Comments

AI and electrification are driving unprecedented energy demand and creating real challenges as we also work to decarbonize the grid. Thanks to an amazing panel who joined us in front of a packed house at SF Commonwealth Club yesterday! Highlights in the blog post below. #climateweeksf #AI #electrification

30

1 Comment

I love stories like Samuel's about how he switched on to the need for the transition and found his pathway to having impact. Each of us has to find their own light switch and their own pathway. Prof Smil is such a troubling figure. Brilliant, charming, persuasive - yet he has used his skills to discourage us from working on what we all understand is a vast and daunting problem. All light switch, no pathway. For decades he propagated the Primary Energy Fallacy - the idea that renewable energy had to replace all "Primary Energy Demand", even though that is not a measure of demand at all: 2/3 of it is lost en route, mainly waste heat from burning coal, oil and gas. We need to provide energy services, we do not need to burn things. And he hasn't devoted 1% of his brilliance to explaining what we *should* do, rather than what we *shouldn't* do. OK, we get it, it's hard to change big systems fast. So where's the Smil plan? Even if we can't stop climate change dead in its tracks, we have to do the best we can. Every 0.1C matters. My light switch was seeing the damage being done to my beloved high mountain environments - glaciers disappearing, historic climbing routes becoming unusable because of rockfall as the permafrost melts. And my pathway was to help people understand in practice solutions - and not just renewables - that *could*, at least in theory, scale fast enough to make a difference. We now have enough manufacturing capacity to replace 5% of global electricity with solar every year. Soon to be 10%. If you put one grain of rice on the first square of the chess board, and two grains on the second square, you may not yet have enough to feed a Prof Smil, but we all know what happens next. So buckle up, listen to the Cleaning Up Podcast episode with Jenny, and even if you think you can't do much, you can. You could help someone else, early in their career, find their light switch and their pathway! And make sure you tell people your own light switch and pathway story. Narratives matter. https://lnkd.in/gTVyu4-3

41

13 Comments

🚀 Form Energy's Iron-Air Batteries: Pioneering Long-Duration Energy Storage ⚡🔋 Last week was the SOSV Climate Summit and one theme that stood out was the decarbonization of the grid. I was fascinated to learn about the work being done around long duration storage solutions (100+ hours) necessary to provide base load assurance given the intermittency of renewable sources like wind and solar. Whilst there are a number of different technologies in the mix from pumped hydro storage, thermal energy storage and gravity energy storage, on the battery front, Form Energy and it's iron-air solution seems to be pulling ahead. The core of the iron-air battery is its electrochemical redox cycle, utilizing iron oxidation during discharge to produce iron oxide (rust), and reversing the reaction during charge to regenerate metallic iron. This process allows the system to store energy for up to 100 to 150 hours, addressing multi-day intermittency in renewable generation. Some of the other advantages of the technology are as follows: 💰 Cost-Effective: Targets a $20 per kWh cost, significantly lower than conventional lithium-ion batteries, enabling affordable large-scale deployment. 🌍 Environmentally Friendly: Utilizes abundant, non-toxic materials (iron, water, air), reducing reliance on rare or hazardous materials, with a lower environmental impact. 🔒 Safe and Non-Flammable: Employs a water-based, non-flammable electrolyte, reducing the risks associated with thermal runaway, a common concern with lithium-ion batteries. 📈 Scalable and Modular: The modular design allows flexible deployment from small projects to large-scale, utility-grade storage solutions, making it adaptable to various grid needs. Form Energy has secured over $1.2 billion in capital since its founding, enabling rapid scaling and innovation. The company’s most recent Series F funding round in October 2024 raised a substantial $405 million, led by major investors like TPG Rise Climate, GE Vernova, Breakthrough Energy and Energy Impact Partners. This latest round will support the development of their manufacturing facility in Weirton, West Virginia, where Form Energy will repurpose a former steel mill into a production hub for its iron-air batteries. I would recommend the following podcast if you want to lean more. And Latitude Media and Canary Media Inc. for the best up-to-date reporting on transition related topics. https://lnkd.in/gmCR5prN

3

Check out the guest post for SAE International's blog by clicking below: Developing a Global Standard for EV Battery Tracking: What You Need to Know by Lauren Roman, Founder and Principal Consultant of TransparentPlanet. From Lauren's blog post: Despite the promise of electronic vehicles (EVs) in helping to achieve a clean energy future, three key challenges remain: 1. Ensuring that the minerals that go into EV batteries (EVBs) are sustainable 2. Ensuring that batteries are used to their fullest extent 3. Ensuring recovery of critical battery minerals so they can be used over and over again To ensure EVB traceability and recovery, countries around the world are developing or implementing systems requiring the use of digital identifiers, usually QR codes, also referred to as "Battery Passports," to provide those who engage an EV battery with valuable data on materials origin, state of health and chain of custody to evidence final recycling. Since cars are imported and exported across the globe for sale, it is critical that the data to be shared by battery and auto manufacturers and accessed by users is harmonized. By harmonizing standards globally, the EV battery industry can become efficient, sustainable, and innovative while addressing challenges related to resource management, environmental and social impact, and economic growth. #automotiveindustry #evs #evbatteries

7

A fascinating piece in the NY Times-Breaking News today using research and data enumerating the impacts of #climatechange...not just the #enviornmental impacts we all see and feel, but the social and economic. An excerpt..."an empirically nuanced understanding of climate damages makes it even clearer that reducing emissions aggressively makes cost-benefit sense, not only because we want to insure against total ecological breakdown (cue “extinction rebellion” and “tipping points”), but also because the economic costs of even “noncatastrophic” warming may be considerable." #Recommended reading for today: https://lnkd.in/g3StXccV #decarbonization #gigacorn #gigacornhunter #optimist

11

1 Comment