Participated · Equity · Sep 2023

Yotta Energy develops integrated hardware and software renewable-energy solutions that combine solar PV, energy storage, and EV charging for commercial buildings. Its core products include a PV-Coupled™ architecture and the SolarLEAF battery technology, featuring advanced thermal management to maintain optimal temperatures under extreme outdoor conditions. The company also offers a suite of EV charging products and a software layer that enhances grid resilience and outage response. Yotta recently launched Yotta Vision, a monitoring platform that analyzes individual modules and micro-inverters, provides remote access, real-time alerts, temperature monitoring, and dynamic output graphs. The company is building a network of certified developers and installers, including Teylon and E2SOL, to deploy its systems to notable national retailers. Management says the new funding will be used to scale manufacturing and accelerate deployment of SolarLEAF. Yotta Energy develops a PV‑Coupled™ panel‑level energy storage solution that integrates lithium‑iron‑phosphate batteries, advanced thermal management, and software to pair with rooftop solar. Its briefcase‑sized hardware fits under standard solar modules and is designed to lower total installed cost for rooftop solar-plus-storage. Yotta positions the product to enhance grid resilience and provide battery backup for buildings, with pilot deployments focused on multifamily properties. The company has secured public awards to deploy and validate systems in underserved communities and at military sites. Yotta plans to replicate and scale the technology across similar locations nationwide and will perform pre‑installation data collection at SolarTAC in Colorado. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Yotta Energy develops a patented PV‑Coupled panel-level energy storage solution that fits under standard solar modules and integrates with racking arrays. Its hardware includes advanced thermal management to maintain optimal temperatures in extreme outdoor conditions, and the offering combines integrated software and hardware. The company’s technology is designed to scale with rooftop solar PV projects and to enhance grid resilience by helping address outages. Yotta has collaborated with APsystems on power conversion systems including a Dual Power Inverter and a 480V, 3‑phase microinverter for C&I applications. The company plans to use new funding to accelerate scaling of its panel-level solar-plus-storage system, develop new technology, and increase headcount. Yotta is led by CEO Omeed Badkoobeh and is based in Austin, TX. Yotta Energy develops modular, panel-level solar-plus-storage systems designed to convert commercial flat roofs into distributed power plants. Its flagship SolarLeaf is a briefcase-sized, lithium-iron-phosphate battery module installed beneath individual solar panels, with 1 kWh nominal capacity per unit and an ideal system size up to 1 MWh. The PV‑coupled, module-level architecture uses thermal management and a small footprint to lower installation costs versus large container systems, simplify permitting, and improve battery performance and safety. As an integrated hardware and software solution, Yotta’s product stores excess on-site renewable energy, can sell power back to the grid, and is aimed at improving grid resilience for commercial and industrial customers. The company plans to use Series A proceeds to expand deployments in the U.S. and Latin America, increase hiring, and open new energy-generation revenue opportunities for flat-roof building owners. Yotta is headquartered in Austin, Texas, has deployments across states including California and Texas, pilot utility projects, and a 12-project deal with installer EcoBuild (first site: an 87 kW solar and storage microgrid). Yotta Energy, headquartered in Austin, Texas, develops PV-Coupled™ panel-level energy storage that fits under standard solar modules and integrates with racking arrays. Its patented passive thermal management system enables decentralized, briefcase-sized battery modules that withstand extreme outdoor conditions and extend battery lifespan. The plug-and-play design aims to simplify rooftop solar-plus-storage installations by eliminating heavy enclosures and complicated HVAC systems and standardizing integration. Yotta targets small-to-medium commercial and industrial rooftop solar projects and is positioning its technology to capture the U.S. commercial rooftop solar market. The company closed a $5M Seed Round to finalize UL certification, commence commercial production, and build the necessary infrastructure for scale. Investors named in the round include Fiftysix Investments, EDP Ventures, Skyview Ventures and other undisclosed investors.

Participated · Series B · Aug 2023

Verdagy develops Advanced Alkaline Water Electrolysis (AWE) eDynamic® electrolyzers designed for large-scale green hydrogen production. Its technology targets low levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) through high current densities, the widest dynamic range in the industry, and fast response to match renewable power. The company announced a gigawatt-scale Silicon Valley factory in 2023 and operates R&D and highly automated commercial pilot plants in Moss Landing, California. Verdagy plans to commence shipments from its Newark, CA manufacturing facility in 2025 to enable infrastructure-scale deployments. To accelerate high-volume manufacturing, Verdagy has been awarded a $39.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (pending negotiations). The company is ramping up commercial deployments and is committed to helping meet the DOE's $2/kg LCOH target by 2026. Verdagy develops scaling electrolyzer technologies for industrial markets, headquartered in Moss Landing, CA. Its core product is the eDynamic® family; the company is accelerating launch and commercialization of the eDynamic 20 megawatt (MW) electrolyzer module. The 20MW module is intended to serve as a fundamental unit for future systems at the 200MW scale and beyond. Verdagy will expand deployments after initial commercial unit deployments with existing partners to customers in heavy industries such as oil and gas, ammonia, steel and e‑fuels to support industrial decarbonization. The company’s leadership includes CEO Marty Neese (SunPower, Ballard), COO Peter Cousins (scaled Tesla gigafactories) and founder Dr. Ryan Gilliam (founder of Fortera and Chemetry). Verdagy has created a membrane-based electrolysis technology that blends advantages of alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) and proton-exchange membrane (PEM) approaches, using very large active-area cells that can operate at high current densities and wide dynamic ranges. The company’s single-element architecture focuses on proprietary interior cell design—heat dissipation, gas/liquid circulation and flow management—which Verdagy says is difficult to replicate. Its cells enable both efficient operation in a max-efficiency range and the ability to absorb excess renewable electricity to produce large amounts of hydrogen for storage or use. Verdagy is targeting industrial hydrogen applications—on-site or near-site supply for oil refining, fertilizer production, food processing and metal-alloy production—where it says a smaller footprint and lower lifecycle emissions are beneficial. The technology is patent-pending and the company emphasizes industrial-scale deployment tied to renewable power sources like wind and solar. Financially, Verdagy completed an over-subscribed $25 million strategic investor round to support its development and commercialization efforts.

Participated · Series A · Aug 2022

Hysata develops a new type of electrolyser featuring an electrolysis cell coupled with a simplified balance of plant to produce green hydrogen. The company intends to scale manufacturing capacity at its Wollongong, New South Wales facility and pursue gigawatt-scale production. Hysata plans to use the recent funding to expand production and further develop its technology. Led by CEO Paul Barrett, the company emphasizes high efficiency, intrinsically low capex, and a mass-manufacturable design to lower the levelised cost of hydrogen. Hysata currently employs roughly 75 staff and aims to grow to more than 200 employees over the next couple of years while expanding its footprint across multiple continents. Hysata has developed a redesigned hydrogen electrolyser that eliminates gas-bubble formation and cuts electrical resistance, claiming around 95% efficiency versus ~75% for current technologies. The company says the design greatly reduces cooling needs and can produce green hydrogen at well below the competitive target of $2 per kilogram. Hysata spun out of research at the University of Wollongong and is commercialising the laboratory concept. As part of commercialization, Hysata will build and test a 5 MW system at its Port Kembla manufacturing facility. The full system is planned to be moved to Rockhampton for installation and trials adjacent to Stanwell Power Station, with the field pilot due to commence in 2025. The project is framed as a key step to unlocking commercial demand if the prototype proves effective at scale. Hysata is an Australian company that develops hydrogen electrolyser technology to produce green hydrogen. Its core product is an electrolyser system that operates at 95% system efficiency. Led by CEO Paul Barrett, the company positions the technology for scalability with potential availability in Europe from 2030. Hysata raised USD23M in a Series A to support growth. The company intends to use the funds to grow the team and develop a pilot manufacturing facility. Participating investors include Virescent Ventures (on behalf of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation), Kiko Ventures, IP Group Australia, Vestas Ventures, Hostplus and BlueScope via BlueScopeX.

Participated · Series B · Jul 2022

Spectainer is an industrial technology developer focused on COLLAPSECON, a mass-producible collapsible container solution for shipping and logistics. The company offers a holistic and scalable service aimed at improving operational efficiency and reducing carbon emissions across land and sea. Spectainer says its solution delivers meaningful economic savings and increased productivity compared with earlier collapsible containers. It has offices in Sydney, Australia and Singapore. The business previously established a US $75 million financing facility with Climate Fund Managers (June 2021) and announced a Strategic Partnership with Austal Limited (July 2022). Proceeds from the latest round will support production and commercial operations to establish Spectainer’s first fleet of COLLAPSECON containers.