Form Energy, a US-based grid-scale battery developer, secured $200m yesterday in a series D round led by $25m from steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal’s XCarb innovation fund.
Founded in 2017 as Baseload Renewables, Form Energy develops low-cost battery systems that can store wind and solar energy from renewable energy systems for a long duration.
The company has produced a rechargeable iron-air battery capable of delivering electricity for 100 hours at costs competitive with conventional power plants and at less than one-tenth the cost of lithium-ion batteries.
As part of the deal, ArcelorMittal and Form Energy have signed a joint development agreement to further boost the latter’s iron battery production. The other participants in the round were not disclosed.
ArcelorMittal launched XCarb in March this year with the aim of investing up to $100m per year in companies developing pioneering or breakthrough technologies with the potential to accelerate the steel industry’s transition to carbon neutral production.
The investment in Form Energy is the second deal conducted by the fund, following its $10m investment in Heliogen, a concentrated solar power technology developer, last month.
Form Energy raised $76m in a series C round led by Coatue Management in November 2020 that also featured renewable power producer Eni’s corporate venturing arm, Eni Next.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures, The Engine, Capricorn Investment Group, Macquarie Capital, Energy Impact Partners, NGP Energy Technology Partners III and Temasek also contributed to the capital injection.
Form Energy had previously collected $40m in an August 2019 series B round led by Eni Next and backed by The Engine, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group, Prelude Ventures and Macquarie Capital.
Oil and gas supplier Saudi Aramco invested in the company’s $9m series A round, which closed in 2018, alongside The Engine, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures and Macquarie Capital. It followed a $2m injection of seed capital by The Engine the previous year.