Form Energy sparks $40m

Form Energy, a US-based energy storage technology spinout of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), completed a $40m series B round backed by the university’s affiliate venture fund The Engine on Friday.
Eni Next, the corporate venturing arm of energy supplier Eni, led the round with participation from cleantech-focused VC fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group, Prelude Ventures and Macquarie Capital.
Founded in 2017 as Baseload Renewables, Form Energy is developing lithium-sulphur batteries that can be used as energy storage to help manage peaks on electricity grids.
The aim is to provide low-cost grid storage for renewable sources of energy, such as wind and solar, which tend to have more erratic output than conventional fossil fuels.
The cash will help fund a prototype of Form Energy’s engineering processes and build a megawatt-capacity battery for commercial testing.
Michael Skelly, a senior adviser at financial advisory and asset management firm Lazard specialised in energy grid development, has joined the board of directors.
Form Energy collected $9m in a two-tranche series A round in 2018 backed by The Engine, oil producer Saudi Aramco, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures and Macquarie Capital.
The spinout raised an initial $7.4m that February, before closing a $1.6m extension three months later, according to regulatory filings. The Engine had previously injected $2m in seed capital in 2017.
Form Energy grew from research at MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering pioneered by Yet-Ming Chiang, a professor at the department, and his former graduate student William Woodford.
The pair were joined setting up the company by Marco Ferrara, a research affiliate of MIT who previously co-founded solar plant developer Solar Machines, Mateo Jaramillo, former director for energy storage at electric vehicle maker Tesla, and Ted Wiley, former president of circular economy think-tank McDonough Innovation.