Peak Energy launches following $10m funding round

Peak Energy, a US-based company developing sodium-ion battery storage technology for the grid, has “launched from stealth” following a $10 million funding round led by Eclipse, with significant participation from strategic partner TDK Ventures. 

A company statement said that, due to its high energy density, lithium-ion had become the dominant battery with the result that lithium demand is high, pricing is volatile, and most of the world's lithium extraction and battery manufacturing exists outside of the US,, adding “levels of geopolitical, supply chain and sourcing complexities that impact the cost and availability of energy storage for independent power producers and electric utilities. 

“With the US having already ceded leadership on lithium-ion innovation and investment to other countries, it's critical that it invests in, and leads on, the battery chemistries of tomorrow,” the statement added. “Sodium-ion, a stable and proven battery chemistry that offers cost, sourcing, safety and emission advantages over lithium-ion, is one such chemistry. With wide scale abundance of source materials and a chemistry that produces less carbon emissions and makes it less prone to fires and other safety concerns, sodium-ion is a better alternative to lithium ion for stationary applications, such as grid-storage, and a technology that can help the US take a leadership position in global battery manufacturing.”

Peak Energy is aiming to “industrialise sodium-ion [batteries], with a target to lower energy storage costs by up to 50 percent,” the statement added.

Peak Energy has been founded by “industry veterans” from Northvolt, Tesla, Enovix and SunPower. 

“Peak Energy is on a mission to accelerate grid decarbonisation, while drastically lowering the cost of energy storage and establishing the US as a global leader in the sodium-ion market,” the statement said.

Landon Mossburg, co-founder and CEO of Peak Energy, said: "Sodium-ion is the key to unlocking the potential of renewable energy and will finally enable power providers to fully decarbonise the grid. The timing could not be better to build a company in this space, and we already have momentum with key customers and partners like Doral Energy. There is a massive opportunity for the United States to emerge as the global leader in sodium-ion production and deployment, and Peak Energy is at the forefront of that effort."

Greg Reichow, partner at Eclipse, added:: "The cost of energy is directly correlated to human progress — improving health outcomes, solving food scarcity and reducing poverty all depend on access to low-cost energy. For the US to become a global leader in renewable energy, we cannot afford to place the wrong bets — we must invest in the ventures and the people who have demonstrated they can get to scale quickly, and Peak's founding team brings an unprecedented level of credibility and experience to Peak's mission."

Anil Achyuta, managing director at TDK Ventures, commented: "Peak's founders have identified a cost-effective, safe solution with a deployment strategy that enables quick execution and sustainable growth for sodium-ion battery innovation. Peak Energy has an opportunity to dominate this market, and we're looking forward to partnering with the entire team to accelerate and expand access to affordable, clean storage solutions."

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