Stealthy battery company backed by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos has a lot to prove

Published

4 years ago

August 28, 2021

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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.

Environment

E-quipment highlight: Kubota mini excavator goes from diesel to EV and back

Published

4 hours ago

July 8, 2025

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E-quipment highlight: Kubota mini excavator goes from diesel to EV and back

Kubota highlights retrofit batteries for mini excavators

Japanese equipment giant Kubota brought 22 new or updated machines to the 2025 bauma expo earlier this year, but tucked away in the corners was a new retrofit kit that can help existing customers decarbonize more quickly, and more affordably.

No matter how badly a fleet may want to electrify, harsh economic realities and the greater up-front costs typically associated with battery electric remain high hurdles to overcome, but new retrofit options from major manufacturers are popping up to help lower those obstacles.

The latest equipment maker to put its name on the retrofit list is Kubota, who says its kit can be installed by a trained dealer in a single day.

That’s right! By this time tomorrow, your diesel-powered Kubota KX019 or U27-4 excavator (shown) could be fitted with an 18 or 20 kWh li-ion battery pack and electric drive motors and ready to get to work in a low-noise or low-vibration work environment where emissions are a strict no-no. Think indoor precision demolition or historic archeological excavation.

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Then, if necessary, it can go right back to diesel power.

From diesel to electric and back again

If that sounds familiar, that’s because we’ve talked about a similarly flexible power solution from ZQUIP. The battery packs and diesel engines are much larger in that application, but the basic sales pitch remains the same: electric when it benefits your operation, diesel it doesn’t.

Kubota says its modular retrofit kits is a response to the increasing global demand for sustainable alternatives by focusing on making machinery that’s flexible and repairable enough to be “reusable,” and offer construction fleet managers a longer operational lifespan, superior ROI (return on investment), and lower TCO (total cost of ownership) than the competition.

Kubota’s solution also notably reduces maintenance costs and operational overheads. With no engine and associated components, servicing time and expenses are considerably reduced, saving customers both time and money. Additionally, with electricity costing far less than fossil fuels, it offers a highly economical advantage.

KUBOTA

International Rental News reports that other changes to the excavators include a more modern cab controls with a digital instrument cluster, a 60 mm wider undercarriage for more stability, and an independent travel circuit allows operators to use the boom, dipper, bucket, and auxiliary functions without an impact on tracking performance.

Kubota’s new kit, first shown at last year’s Hillhead exhibition in the UK, will officially be on sale this summer – any day now, in fact – though pricing has yet to be announced.

Electrek’s Take

[embedded content]

If you’re wondering how it is that we’re still talking about bauma 2025 a full quarter after the show wrapped up, then I haven’t done a good enough job of explaining how positively massive the show was. Check out this Quick Charge episode (above) then let us know what you think of Kubota’s modular power kits in the comments.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Kubota, via International Rental News.

If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

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America – it’s a party now! Plus: an electric Honda Ruckus and updated BMW

Published

5 hours ago

July 7, 2025

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America – it's a party now! Plus: an electric Honda Ruckus and updated BMW

Elon Musk isn’t happy about Trump passing the Big Beautiful Bill and killing off the $7,500 EV tax credit – but there’s a lot more bad news for Tesla baked into the BBB. We’ve got all that and more on today’s budget-busting episode of Quick Charge!

We also present ongoing coverage of the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix and dive into some two wheeled reports on the new electric Honda Ruckus e:Zoomer, the latest BMW electric two-wheeler, and more!

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New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Environment

FERC: Solar + wind made up 96% of new US power generating capacity in first third of 2025

Published

6 hours ago

July 7, 2025

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FERC: Solar + wind made up 96% of new US power generating capacity in first third of 2025

Solar and wind accounted for almost 96% of new US electrical generating capacity added in the first third of 2025. In April, solar provided 87% of new capacity, making it the 20th consecutive month solar has taken the lead, according to data belatedly posted on July 1 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign.

Solar’s new generating capacity in April 2025 and YTD

In its latest monthly “Energy Infrastructure Update” report (with data through April 30, 2025), FERC says 50 “units” of solar totaling 2,284 megawatts (MW) were placed into service in April, accounting for 86.7% of all new generating capacity added during the month.

In addition, the 9,451 MW of solar added during the first four months of 2025 was 77.7% of the new generation placed into service.

Solar has now been the largest source of new generating capacity added each month for 20 consecutive months, from September 2023 to April 2025.

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Solar + wind were >95% of new capacity in 1st third of 2025

Between January and April 2025, new wind provided 2,183 MW of capacity additions, accounting for 18.0% of new additions in the first third.

In the same period, the combination of solar and wind was 95.7% of new capacity while natural gas (511 MW) provided just 4.2%; the remaining 0.1% came from oil (11 MW).

Solar + wind are >22% of US utility-scale generating capacity

The installed capacities of solar (11.0%) and wind (11.8%) are now each more than a tenth of the US total. Together, they make up almost one-fourth (22.8%) of the US’s total available installed utility-scale generating capacity.

Moreover, at least 25-30% of US solar capacity is in small-scale (e.g., rooftop) systems that are not reflected in FERC’s data. Including that additional solar capacity would bring the share provided by solar + wind to more than a quarter of the US total.

With the inclusion of hydropower (7.7%), biomass (1.1%), and geothermal (0.3%), renewables currently claim a 31.8% share of total US utility-scale generating capacity. If small-scale solar capacity is included, renewables are now about one-third of total US generating capacity.

Solar is on track to become No. 2 source of US generating capacity

FERC reports that net “high probability” additions of solar between May 2025 and April 2028 total 90,158 MW – an amount almost four times the forecast net “high probability” additions for wind (22,793 MW), the second-fastest growing resource. Notably, both three-year projections are higher than those provided just a month earlier.

FERC also foresees net growth for hydropower (596 MW) and geothermal (92 MW) but a decrease of 123 MW in biomass capacity.

Taken together, the net new “high probability” capacity additions by all renewable energy sources over the next three years – i.e., the bulk of the Trump administration’s remaining time in office – would total 113,516 MW.

FERC doesn’t include any nuclear capacity in its three-year forecast, while coal and oil are projected to contract by 24,373 MW and 1,915 MW, respectively. Natural gas capacity would expand by 5,730 MW.

Thus, adjusting for the different capacity factors of gas (59.7%), wind (34.3%), and utility-scale solar (23.4%), electricity generated by the projected new solar capacity to be added in the coming three years should be at least six times greater than that produced by the new natural gas capacity, while the electrical output by new wind capacity would be more than double that by gas.

If FERC’s current “high probability” additions materialize, by May 1, 2028, solar will account for one-sixth (16.6%) of US installed utility-scale generating capacity. Wind would provide an additional one-eighth (12.6%) of the total. That would make each greater than coal (12.2%) and substantially more than nuclear power or hydropower (7.3% and 7.2%, respectively).

In fact, assuming current growth rates continue, the installed capacity of utility-scale solar is likely to surpass that of either coal or wind within two years, placing solar in second place for installed generating capacity, behind only natural gas.

Renewables + small-scale solar may overtake natural gas within 3 years

The mix of all utility-scale (ie, >1 MW) renewables is now adding about two percentage points each year to its share of generating capacity. At that pace, by May 1, 2028, renewables would account for 37.7% of total available installed utility-scale generating capacity – rapidly approaching that of natural gas (40.1%). Solar and wind would constitute more than three-quarters of installed renewable energy capacity. If those trend lines continue, utility-scale renewable energy capacity should surpass that of natural gas in 2029 or sooner.

However, as noted, FERC’s data do not account for the capacity of small-scale solar systems. If that’s factored in, within three years, total US solar capacity could exceed 300 GW. In turn, the mix of all renewables would then be about 40% of total installed capacity while the share of natural gas would drop to about 38%.

Moreover, FERC reports that there may actually be as much as 224,426 MW of net new solar additions in the current three-year pipeline in addition to 69,530 MW of new wind, 9,072 MW of new hydropower, 202 MW of new geothermal, and 39 MW of new biomass. By contrast, net new natural gas capacity potentially in the three-year pipeline totals just 26,818 MW. Consequently, renewables’ share could be even greater by mid-spring 2028.

“The Trump Administration’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ … poses a clear threat to solar and wind in the years to come,” noted the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director, Ken Bossong. “Nonetheless, FERC’s latest data and forecasts suggest cleaner and lower-cost renewable energy sources may still dominate and surpass nuclear power, coal, and natural gas.”

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