Allegro Energy, an Australian battery startup, has raised A$17.5 million in a Series A funding round. The funding was led by The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, with support from Lightbank, Melt Ventures, and Impact Ventures. The Newcastle-based company has developed water-based Redox Flow Batteries (RFB) for storing renewable energy.
Allegro plans to build an 800 KWh pilot storage facility at Origin Energy’s Eraring site in New South Wales later this year. Origin acquired a five percent stake in Allegro in June last year to support the development of a 60 MWh pilot RFB capacity at its facilities. Dr.
Thomas Nann, Allegro’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement, “We are thrilled to be among the companies to have been given global recognition by The Grantham Foundation while also successfully drawing critical local capital and strategic support from some of the leading names in the renewable energy space. These funds will help us rapidly accelerate our manufacturing capacity.”
Allegro’s RFB technology uses water, making them safer and more environmentally friendly compared to other battery technologies.
Funding boost for Allegro Energy
The batteries contain no scarce materials, and all key components are recyclable. The company claims its RFBs and supercapacitors are non-flammable, non-corrosive, and cheaper than competing technologies. The Grantham Foundation, established in 2007 by Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham, supports natural resource conservation projects globally.
Lightbank, a Chicago-based early-stage tech investor, is another significant investor in the funding round. Origin Energy is collaborating with Allegro to develop a pilot project using the startup’s redox flow batteries. The project involves deploying an 800kWh battery before scaling up to a 12-hour duration (5MW/60MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS) at the Eraring site.
Piers Grove, a general partner at Impact Ventures, believes Allegro’s technology has the potential to significantly impact global long-duration energy storage, aligning with their mission to foster environmental solutions. The strategic partnership and recent investment will enable Allegro Energy to scale its innovative energy storage solutions, contributing to more sustainable and reliable energy systems worldwide.
