US-based grid-scale battery developer Ambri has closed a $35m series C round that featured a contribution from Total Energy Ventures, the corporate venturing unit for France-based petroleum company Total.
The round was led by family office KLP Enterprises and insurance company Building Insurance Bern, both of which participated as new investors, and existing backers Total, Khosla Ventures and Bill Gates.
Total provided an undisclosed amount of series A funding for Ambri, formerly known as Liquid Metal Battery, alongside Gates in 2011, before Khosla led an $11m series B round in May 2012. Ambri has raised more than $50m in total since it was founded, the company said.
Spun out of research conducted at MIT, Ambri is developing batteries that would be able to store energy for large-scale renewable energy plants.
Batteries could provide a scalable solution to intermittency issues surrounding renewables, and Ambri claims that its liquid metal models can be manufactured more simply, and from cheaper and safer materials than other batteries. The funding will be used to push its product towards commercialisation, and to build its first production plant.
“This round of investment is a milestone for Ambri that will accelerate our commercialisation efforts,” said Ambri CEO Phil Giudice. “We are building a world-class team that is developing a solution to the energy challenges of the 21st century.”