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An artist rendering of Form Energy’s battery system.
Rendering courtesy Form Energy

A secretive start-up called Form Energy says it’s developing and scaling the production of a new type of rechargeable battery that can store electricity for 100 hours.

Form hasn’t publicly demonstrated its technology or shared proof that it works. Nonetheless, the company has lined up more than $360 million in funding, including a new $240 million round that closed Tuesday, and partners and outside experts are optimistic about its potential.

One notable funder is Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which includes tech celebrities Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman and Richard Branson as investors. In one of his blog posts, Gill Gates touted the importance of Form Energy’s work, writing that it was “creating a new class of batteries that would provide long-duration storage at a lower cost than lithium ion batteries.”

Its first utility partner, Minnesota-based Great River Energy, describes their work together as a pilot project that could be an “important contribution to grid reliability and energy affordability should they achieve commercial success,” a spokesperson says.

In order to be at net-zero by mid-century, meaning that the globe is absorbing as much greenhouse gases as are still being emitted, solar and wind capacity will need to quadruple and investments in renewable energy will need to triple by 2030, according to comments from United Nations Secretary General António Guterres.

For that to happen, there also must be a ramp up of long duration battery storage. There has to be a way to provide electricity when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. That’s the market Form Energy is attempting to serve.

No public data, lots of faith

Until recently, the company had been operating under the radar. In October 2019, CEO Mateo Jaramillo, a former Telsa vice president, noted his own reticence to speak with the media.

“As you’ve maybe seen, there isn’t a lot of press about us. And we’ve tried to tamp down anything other than what’s necessary,” he told CNBC at the time, speaking at the Tough Tech Summit in Boston, in the backyard of the company’s headquarters in Somerville, Mass. “There’s just a fraught history with battery startups over the last 15 years. Which is why that hesitancy in general. The industry is a little weary, I would say.”

Despite the company’s early tendency to skirt the spotlight, it’s had no trouble raising funds. On Tuesday, Form Energy announced it had closed a $240 million Series D financing round, led by the decarbonization XCarb innovation fund of the global steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal. Form Energy and ArcelorMittal are working together to develop iron materials for Form’s first commercial battery technology which “ArcelorMittal would non-exclusively supply for Form’s battery systems,” according to a statement. Breakthrough Energy Ventures also participated in the round.

However, Form has released no public data to verify the performance of its long-duration battery technology. (The company prefers the term “multi-day storage” to differentiate it from other companies working on shorter-long-duration batteries.)

The Form Energy battery.
Photo courtesy Form Energy

“We have been doing extensive testing internally. But you asked about public data. There is no public data, we don’t publish public data. We’re a private company, so we don’t need to,” Jaramillo told CNBC in a phone conversation in August.

“We are extremely transparent with our partners … about the testing that we have, the cells that we’re building and testing … but all of the structure of our experiments and exactly what goes in there that’s quite proprietary,” Jaramillo said.

CNBC spoke with several of these funders and partners to learn what they saw in the company’s technology.

Great River Energy is working with Form Energy to implement a one-wasmegawatt battery storage pilot project in Cambridge, Minn. Form Energy’s battery technology depends on having access to iron, and a swath of northern Minnesota is called the Iron Range for its extensive deposits.

The management and technical teams of Form Energy and Great River have been collaborating for more than three years, says Jon Brekke, vice president and chief power supply officer for the utility.

“During this time, Form has shared with us plans, actions, and results of their technology development work that directly supports our pilot project,” Brekke told CNBC. “A shared vision of low cost, long duration storage led us to this pilot project. We see these efforts as an important contribution to grid reliability and energy affordability should they achieve commercial success.” 

While Great River Energy reports to have seen evidence of Form Energy’s battery tech working, the California Energy Commission, from which Form Energy won a $2 million dollar grant, has not.

In June 2020, the California Energy Commission, the state’s primary energy policy and planning agency, granted Form Energy the money to be used for pursuing the development of energy storage technologies that do not require lithium. “Grants are awarded on a competitive basis, meaning they are scored based on their technical merit,” Michael Ward, spokesperson for the California Energy Commission told CNBC.

That said, the California Energy Commission “has not seen specific performance data on the iron-air technology yet,” according to CEC researcher Mike Gravely. It expects to “receive that data when the system is built and tested” at a test site at the University of California at Irvine.

Form Energy’s air electrode, a component of its battery technology.
Photo courtesy Form Energy

A co-chair of the investment committee at Breakthrough Ventures, Carmichael Roberts, said the firm would not comment on the performance of Form Energy’s technology. However, he told CNBC the caliber of the personnel gave the Breakthrough team the confidence to invest.

“When we started Breakthrough Energy Ventures, we knew that long duration energy storage was going to be an important part of the portfolio. When we learned that Yet-Ming and Mateo were each creating a new battery company, we saw it as the perfect opportunity to bring together two of the world’s leading experts, and Form was launched,” Roberts told CNBC. Yet-Ming Chiang is a co-founder and the chief scientist at Form Energy, and a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 1985.

“We knew that the core technology had great potential, but more importantly we had faith in the team that could deliver it,” Roberts said.

The rechargeable iron-air battery Form Energy is not the only technology the company has pursued.

In 2018, Form Energy received $3.8 million from the federal government’s Department of Energy as a part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (abbreviated as ARPA-E). But that was for a different battery based on “aqueous sulfur battery chemistry,” Form told CNBC.

“We chose to focus on an iron-air battery as our first commercial offering both because of its promising performance in the lab and because the iron-air chemistry positions us to tap into the global iron supply chain that already exists to support steel manufacturing,” the company said.

How iron-air battery tech works

The essential ingredients in Form’s battery are iron, air and water, all readily available and low cost. The battery works with a process the company calls “reversible rusting.”

To charge, an electric current converts rust back to iron and the battery breathes out oxygen. To discharge, the battery takes in oxygen from the air and converts the iron to rust.

Each battery is filled with a non-flammable electrolyte liquid, similar to the electrolyte used in AA batteries and is about the size of a washing machine, Form Energy says. Thousands of the washing machine-size battery modules are clumped together in power blocks and depending on what is needed, tens to hundreds of power blocks can be connected to the electricity grid.

A diagram of the Form Energy iron-air battery technology.
Form Energy

The technology is not new. “You can get something to rust, obviously. Rust happens all the time,” Jaramillo told CNBC. “To better control that process and to control it at its least cost, most performing points is an altogether separate matter.”

Experts agree that the technology has promise.

“There is obvious economic potential if iron can substitute for expensive precious metals such as cobalt, nickel and lithium,” says Stefan Reichelstein, an accounting professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business whose recent work includes studying the cost competitiveness of low-carbon energy solutions.

“But the information disclosed thus far leaves open the key question: What is the unit cost of storing (and discharging) electricity in relatively few — rather than daily — cycles each year?” he added.

The cost question

Form Energy aims to have its battery cost less than $20 per kilowatt-hour, the company tells CNBC. If the company can deliver on that cost goal, it would be a meaningful advance, experts say.

“From an economics point of view, Form’s announced cost target of $20 per kilowatt-hour is in line with what we found in our study published in Nature Energy to be the cost level required for long-duration energy storage to play a significant role in decarbonization of energy systems,” Nestor Sepulveda, who holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in developing methodologies that combine operations research and analytics to guide the energy transition and cleantech development, told CNBC.

By comparison, lithium ion batteries cost between $100 and $200 per kilowatt-hour, explained Mark Z. Jacobson, a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford.

Form Energy’s iron anode, a component of its battery technology.
Photo courtesy Form Energy

“If the cost is actually $20 per kilowatt-hour, that would be a breakthrough and allow the rapid large-scale transformation of all electricity world wide to clean, renewable (wind-water-solar) electricity,” Jacobson said.

Battery tech at the $20 per kilowatt-hour price point “would eliminate the need for natural gas or any other type of combustion fuel for backup power,” Jacobson told CNBC. “It would break any chance of nuclear power from playing a role in an energy future. It would end coal, fuel oil, and natural gas as fuels for electricity generation.”

Sepulveda, who is currently working as a consultant, is a bit more conservative about what $20 per kilowatt-hour means.

He said the threshold is meaningful “with very high penetration of renewables (not our current levels).” So in order for $20 per kilowatt-hour to be meaningful for the quest for carbon reduction, there will have to be more renewable energy production on the ground. “The question then becomes, is there a market in the near future for these technologies? I think that the answer is that there is going to be a niche market for long-duration-energy-storage in the short-medium term, but a big one in the long-term.”

Even while “$20 per kilowatt-hour is very cheap,” Sepulveda and his co-authors determined it the price of long-duration battery storage would need to be less than $10 per kilowatt-hour to “meaningfully displace” other forms of firm energy generation, which refers to energy technologies that can be counted on to meet demand when it is needed in all seasons and over weeks or longer.

The demand for multi-day-battery technology depends on the development of other technologies, too.

“While it seems plausible that iron-air batteries are less expensive than lithium-ion batteries, the more interesting comparison will be with other seasonal storage technologies, for instance, hydrogen conversion,” Reichelstein said to CNBC.

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DHL takes delivery of its first Tesla Semi electric truck, says more to come next year

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December 8, 2025

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DHL takes delivery of its first Tesla Semi electric truck, says more to come next year

Tesla Semi DHL electric truck

The Tesla Semi program is gaining momentum with another major logistics player officially joining the fleet. German logistics giant DHL confirmed that it has taken delivery of its first Tesla Semi.

For a long time, PepsiCo was the only company operating the Tesla Semi in any meaningful volume outside of the automaker itself. But as we move closer to volume production in Nevada, we are seeing more units land in the hands of major customers like Walmart, Costco, and Sysco.

Now, DHL is officially on board.

In a press release issued last week, the logistics giant confirmed the delivery of its first all-electric Tesla Semi to be integrated into its US operations. This follows a pilot program in Livermore, California, where DHL tested the truck’s capabilities on real-world routes.

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According to the official announcement, during a 390-mile long-haul route, the Tesla Semi averaged 1.72 kWh per mile while hauling a gross combined weight of 75,000 pounds (34 metric tons). We previously reported on the successful pilot program last year.

Jim Monkmeyer, President, Transportation, DHL Supply Chain North America, commented on the performance:

“Our pilot of the Tesla Semi exceeded expectations, proving its ability to efficiently haul a typical DHL freight over long distances on a single charge. Integrating the Tesla Semi into our fleet is an important step toward achieving our decarbonization goals and delivering more sustainable solutions for our customers. With its range of up to 500 miles, the Semi unlocks opportunities that were previously beyond the limits of heavy-duty EVs, and we’re excited to partner with Tesla to make that a reality.”

This efficiency of 1.72 kWh/mile is critical. When Tesla first unveiled the Semi, they promised consumption of “less than 2 kWh per mile.” Many skeptics doubted this figure for a fully loaded Class 8 truck, but DHL’s real-world data confirms that Tesla is not only hitting that target but beating it significantly, even with a 75,000 lb load.

The truck is now operating out of Central California. Interestingly, DHL notes that for its current daily operations, the truck travels about 100 miles per day and only requires charging “about once per week.”

Dan Priestley, Director of the Tesla Semi program at Tesla, commented on the partnership:

“DHL has been a great partner to work with, and we appreciate their early and longstanding support for the Semi program. We are excited to support their deployment in North America, and their experience as a trusted logistics provider will help us make the product even better for future global markets.”

DHL says this delivery expands its fleet of Class 8 electric vehicles in North America to over 150 units. The company plans to add more Tesla Semi trucks in 2026 “as Tesla begins its volume production.”

After planning to start production in 2025 for the past 2 years, Tesla has recently delayed Tesla Semi production into 2026.

Electrek’s Take

For years, we’ve heard arguments from legacy truck makers and industry analysts claiming that battery-electric trucks can’t handle long-haul duties because the batteries are too heavy and the efficiency is too low.

DHL just proved them wrong.

Getting 1.72 kWh per mile with a 75,000 lb gross combined weight is impressive. To put that in perspective, at typical commercial electricity rates, that’s a fuel cost of roughly $0.20 to $0.25 per mile. Diesel trucks often cost $0.60 to $0.80 per mile in fuel alone.

The economics are undeniable.


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Lectric Christmas Holiday Sale with up to $893 e-bike savings + multiple price cuts, EcoFlow EV charger hub bundle $1,199, more

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December 8, 2025

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Lectric Christmas Holiday Sale with up to 3 e-bike savings + multiple price cuts, EcoFlow EV charger hub bundle ,199, more


We’re kicking off this week’s Green Deals with more winter holiday savings, led by Lectric’s Christmas Holiday Sale with up to $893 savings on e-bike bundles, price cuts on multiple models, and up to 25% accessory discounts – with e-bike pricing starting from $999. Right behind it is EcoFlow’s final Cyber Week flash sale (before the main event ends tonight and switches to its next seasonal event), which includes the brand’s Power Pulse EV Charger bundled with a Smart Home Panel 2 at a new $1,199 low. There’s also Segway’s Navimow i and X3 series robot lawn mowers at their second-best prices starting from $699, a return low on a popular Autel level 2 EV charging station with voice controls, and more waiting for you below. And don’t forget about the hangover deals from last week down below, collected together in our latest edition of Electrified Weekly.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

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Lectric Christmas Holiday Sale e-bike banner

Lectric Christmas Holiday Sale offers up to $893 savings on e-bike bundles + multiple price cuts, more – all from $999

Lectric has officially switched gears from its previous Black Friday/Cyber Week event to its latest Christmas Holiday Sale, continuing many of the offers with up to $893 savings and 25% accessory discounts, alongside some new change-ups, including price cuts on more models than we’ve seen at once before. Of course, across all your options from this brand, my personal pick for holiday scores is the XP4 Folding Utility e-bike with $227 in FREE gear at $999 shipped or the XP4 750 Folding Utility e-bikes with $514 in FREE gear at $1,299 shipped. Without the usual discounts on the bundles themselves, you’d be paying $1,226 and $1,813 for these packages at full price, with the standard models seeing a shrunk-down bundle that still beats the usual $79 package we’ve mostly seen over 2025, and the 750 model continuing over its previous bundle size which has been the largest we’ve seen since it released in early summer. Head below to browse the full lineup of deals across all models from this brand – and you have until December 15 to get orders in to receive them ahead of Christmas.

Whether you’re shopping for a loved one or treating yourself, you really can’t go wrong with Lectric’s XP4 e-bikes, which I have not only incorporated into my life (and loving), but also raved about in my hands-on review here. Your choice primarily depends on how much power and travel range you need, with the standard XP4 e-bike equipped with a 500W brushless geared hub motor (1,092Wh peak) and a 10.4Ah battery that delivers up to 50 miles of pedal-assisted travel. On the flip side, the XP4 750 e-bike boasts a more powerful 750W motor (with a greater 1,310W peak) and larger 17.5Ah battery to give you up to 85 miles of travel range. Both models’ motors also sport upgraded Stealth M24 tech to perform at quieter levels, all while providing up to 20/28 MPH top speeds that depend on what your state laws allow.

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They share features from there, especially the new upgrades, including a zero-degree stem, detachable TFT display, repositioned side key and charging port, and also keyless riding to meet fan expectations/asks. Your riding also benefits from hydraulic disc brakes, puncture-resistant mixed-terrain tires, an integrated brake-activated taillight with turn signaling, an 8-speed Shimano Altus derailleur, and more.

Lectric Christmas Holiday Sale XP4 e-bike bundles:

Lectric XPedition 2.0 e-bike bundles:

ONE LR Belt-Drive e-bike bundle + price cut:

XPress 750 e-bikes bundle:

XP Lite 2.0 LR e-bike bundles:

XPeak 2.0 e-bikes with price cuts:

XP Trike2 price cut offers:

Lectric’s Christmas Holiday Sale accessory deals:

You can also browse Lectric’s full Christmas Holiday Sale lineup here, including the up to 25% accessory discounts.

EcoFlow EV charger in garage powering EV

EcoFlow’s final Cyber Week flash sale offers Power Pulse EV charger + Smart Home Panel 2 at new $1,199 low (Save 57%), more

As part of the final day of its Cyber Week Sale before transitioning into its winter holiday seasonal events, EcoFlow has launched a 24-hour flash sale on four different bundles – three of which are add-on accessory packages, while one is a first-time inclusion of the Power Pulse EV Charger with a Smart Home Panel 2 at $1,199 shipped. Normally carrying a $2,798 MSRP, we’ve been mainly seeing it keep down at $2,199 since September, un-budged to lower rates even during major holiday events like Black Friday. That’s changing today, as this flash sale is not only including it in the lineup for the first time since its release, but also providing a larger-than-ever 57% markdown that cuts $1,599 from the tag for a new all-time low price.

If you want to learn more about this particular pairing, or any of the add-on accessory bundles, be sure to check out our original coverage of this flash sale here while it lasts until tonight.

Segway navimow robot lawn mowers in grass in front of home

Segway Navimow’s i series + newest X3 series robot lawn mowers up to $500 off at second-best prices from $699

Through its official Amazon storefront, Segway is offering its Navimow i105N Robot Lawn Mower at $699 shipped, while the Navimow i110N Robot Lawn Mower is down at $909 shipped, which both match their direct website pricing. Not only these, but you can also find the latest X3 series of models at their second-best prices collected for you here. Segway’s i series of robots would normally run you $999 and $1,299 at full price, which we’ve seen taken as low as $664 and $864 this year back during last month’s Black Friday event. If you missed out on those lows, you can score them here at their second-best prices (the all-time low for the i105N and the second-best annual price for the i110N), saving you up to $390 while upgrading your lawn care routine with smarter functionality. You can also shop Segway’s latest Christmas Holiday Sale deals on EVs right now, too.

If you want to learn more about these two robot lawn mowers, or browse the additional X3 series of offers, be sure to check out our original coverage of these deals here.

man using Autel EV charger to power EV

Save $151 on Autel’s MaxiCharger AC Lite 40A level 2 EV charger with voice controls back at $319 low

Coming at us through the official Autel Amazon storefront, you can pick up the brand’s MaxiCharger AC Lite Home 40A Smart AI Level 2 EV Charger back at $319 shipped right now in both colorways, matching the price directly from the Autel Website (where you have a choice between a J1772 or NACS connector). Normally fetching $470 in full, discounts over the year mostly kept costs between $399 and $376, though it did drop as low as $352 until Black Friday when this same rate first appeared. Now, you’re getting another shot at this all-time low price, complete with a $151 markdown. If you want to go with a more powerful EV charging station, you can still find the MaxiCharger Home Level 2 50A EV Chargers starting from their $398 lows.

If you want to learn more about this EV charger’s capabilities, be sure to check out our original coverage of this deal here. You can also find Tesla’s Universal Wall Connector retaining its Black Friday price cut here.

ecoflow delta pro ultra x power station in front of several solar panels
ecoflow delta 3 ultra power station with solar panels in grass

Best Winter EV deals!

Best new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.


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Toyota’s new EVs are finally catching on in China, and the flagship model is about to drop

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5 hours ago

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December 8, 2025

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Toyota's new EVs are finally catching on in China, and the flagship model is about to drop

Toyota's-new-EVs-China

After falling behind in China, Toyota’s new electric vehicles are starting to find their footing. Now, it’s about to launch a new flagship model.

Keeping pace in an intensifying EV market

Although nearly every global automaker has struggled to keep pace in China’s fast-moving auto market, Toyota has been one of the hardest hit.

After its sales in China dropped by 7% in 2024, Toyota blamed the shift to new energy vehicles and “severe market conditions”, including an intensifying price war.

The Japanese automaker has been notoriously slow in the transition to fully electric vehicles, standing by its multi-pathway strategy that still includes hybrids and gas-powered vehicles.

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In China, Toyota has had no choice but to adapt. As part of its China R&D 2.0 strategy, Toyota has tapped China’s biggest tech giants, including Huawei, Xiaomi, and Momenta, to help it compete with domestic brands like BYD.

So far, it seems to be paying off. Through October 2025, Toyota’s sales in China are up 3.5%. Now, Toyota is crediting strong demand for its new EV, the bZ3X, for the growth.

Toyota-$15,000-electric-SUV
Toyota bZ3X electric SUV during winter testing (Source: GAC Toyota)

Toyota’s new EVs help boost sales in China

Toyota’s joint venture, GAC-Toyota, announced that bZ3X sales topped the 10,000 mark for two consecutive months.

The bZ3X is Toyota’s “first 100,000 yuan-level pure electric SUV,” starting at just 109,800 yuan, or roughly $15,000.

Toyota's-EVs-China
Toyota bZ electric vehicles in China (Source: Toyota)

It’s about the size of a RAV4 at 4,645 mm long, 1,885 mm wide, and 1,625 mm tall, but it looks and feels very different from the Toyota models we’re used to, with advanced ADAS features, an intelligent voice assistant, smart storage, and much more.

Now, the Japanese automaker is preparing to launch its new flagship EV, the bZ7. According to Toyota, the bZ7 “possesses a higher level of intelligence than any of Toyota’s offerings in global markets.”

Toyota's-new-flagship-EV
The Toyota bZ7 flagship electric sedan (Source: GAC-Toyota)

GAC-Toyota claimed the new flagship EV “generated significant interest” at the Guangzhou International Motor Show last month, thanks to advanced tech and features.

Like the bZ3X, the flagship electric sedan features a minimalistic interior with a floating infotainment screen, a smaller driver cluster, and a head-up display.

Toyota-bZ7-EV-interior
The interior of the Toyota bZ7 (Source: GAC-Toyota)

The bZ7 is the brand’s first vehicle to feature Huawei’s HarmonyOS intelligent driving system, which controls everything from the infotainment to navigation and climate control.

It’s also equipped with Momenta 5.0, providing nearly 50 new ADAS features, including Navigation on Autopilot in cities and on highways.

Toyota-bZ7-interior
The interior of the Toyota bZ7 (Source: GAC-Toyota)

With Xiaomi’s “Human x Car x Home” smart ecosystem, drivers can manage smart home devices directly from the vehicle’s infotainment or smartphone.

The bZ7 is about the size of the Tesla Model S and the BYD Han L, measuring 5,130 mm in length, 1,965 mm in width, and 1,500 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,020 mm.

Toyota’s new flagship EV will be available with 71.35 kWh and 88.13 kWh battery packs, offering a CLTC range of up to 600 km and 710 km, respectively.

Official prices and more information will be revealed closer to its official launch in early 2026, but GAC-Toyota said the bZ7 is “a top choice among 200,000 RMB [$28,000] luxury pure electric sedans.” The company added that the flagship EV is “poised for a strong start, aiming to achieve one million units in production and sales.”

Can it compete with BYD, Tesla, and others in China? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.


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