What the business is
Austin, Texas company making modular batteries installed directly on commercial rooftops beside solar panels
The bet
Modular batteries kept at temperature by phase-change heat exchangers can live on roofs next to solar panels and win a commercial market
Starting capital
$8 million Series A extension led by Evergy Ventures, with BlueScope, Cricetus Felix Ventures, Copec Wind Ventures, EDP Ventures, Doral Tech Ventures and Swan Impact Fund
How it started
Yotta Energy, founded in 2017 in Austin, Texas, makes a modular battery that it installs directly on roofs next to solar panels. Its main innovation is using phase-change heat exchangers to keep the batteries cool or warm on a hot or cold rooftop, rather than housing them in a protected spot at ground level.
What happened
In September 2023 it closed the extension of its Series A, led by Evergy Ventures, the VC arm of utility Evergy. New strategic investors BlueScope and Cricetus Felix Ventures joined, along with existing investors including EDP Ventures. CEO Omeed Badkoobeh said the money would grow deployments to 50, or 3 to 5 MWh of storage, and fund a second-generation battery.
What has to be true
Commercial and industrial rooftops had untapped potential for solar plus batteries
Putting batteries on the roof avoids the ground space of a container at the side of the building
Phase-change heat exchangers address temperature extremes on a rooftop
A utility venture arm and other strategic investors backed deployments
What can be applied
Putting batteries where the solar already is saves ground space, but the product must solve the rooftop's thermal extremes; its utility and building-materials backers hint at likely buyers.
Aftermath
As of 2023-09-19, Yotta Energy had closed an $8M Series A extension, targeted 50 deployments and a second-generation battery, and planned a Series B round early the following year.
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