Participated · Equity · Jun 2023

Avaada Energy develops solar PV projects and is part of the Avaada Group, which also operates in solar PV manufacturing, green fuels (including green ammonia, green methanol and sustainable aviation fuel) and energy storage solutions. The company secured financing for a captive solar PV power project being developed under a long-term PPA with Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (KMF). The project is located in Kalaburagi district, Karnataka, and is expected to be completed in Q3 FY25. Avaada announced a target to achieve 11 GWp capacity by 2026. The company described the transaction as evidence of a derisked project-development strategy and strong project-financing capability. The financing demonstrates ongoing access to long-term infrastructure debt for its project pipeline. Avaada Group operates an integrated renewable energy platform that develops renewable power projects and manufactures solar PV cells and modules. The company has diversified into producing green hydrogen, green methanol and green ammonia alongside expanding its solar manufacturing capabilities. Avaada currently operates a renewable energy portfolio of approximately 4 GW with about 7 GW in various stages of implementation. It recently won a production‑linked incentive of INR 961 crore for 3 GW of wafer‑to‑module capacity and has secured tenders totaling almost 1.8 GW from corporate customers and utilities. The latest funding will be used to bolster its green hydrogen, green methanol, green ammonia, solar manufacturing and renewable power generation ventures. The company has received substantial strategic investor backing and government support as it scales toward multi‑gigawatt objectives.

Participated · Series E · May 2021

24M delivers battery innovations by reinventing battery technologies and manufacturing methods through its SemiSolid™ and Unit Cell manufacturing platform. Its chemistry-agnostic design, process, and platform aim to reduce manufacturing costs while improving safety, range, performance, and recyclability. The company says its technology set addresses long-standing industry challenges in preferred energy storage products. 24M plans to accelerate commercialization and mass production of its offerings, including acquiring and opening a new R&D and pilot manufacturing plant in Rayong, Thailand. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. The recent financing brings total funding to over $500 million, supporting its push toward scaled production and market rollout. 24M develops a chemistry-agnostic SemiSolid™ manufacturing platform intended to lower the cost and improve performance of energy storage. The company has commercially demonstrated its ultra-thick SemiSolid electrode architecture with high energy density using lithium‑ion chemistry. 24M plans to adapt that platform to sodium metal batteries aimed at low‑cost, fast‑charging and wide‑temperature EV applications. It will partner with MIT and Carnegie Mellon University to apply a cell design that includes an ultra‑thick cobalt‑ and nickel‑free sodium cathode, an advanced wide‑temperature fast‑charging electrolyte developed with machine learning and high‑throughput screening, and a sodium super ionic conductor. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass. Company leadership includes president and CEO Naoki Ota and Dr. JunZheng Chen, director of advanced R&D. 24M Technologies builds SemiSolid lithium‑ion cells and a redesigned manufacturing approach intended to reduce battery cost while improving performance. The company is advancing next‑generation high energy density lithium metal anode cells using its SemiSolid platform. 24M plans to combine a lithium metal anode with a SemiSolid cathode to deliver lower cost, superior power and improved energy density for electric aviation applications. The team is developing and scaling a commercial, modular pilot line for customer validation with a clear path to gigascale production capacity. A recent $9 million ARPA‑E award is intended to accelerate commercialization and rapid market entry. 24M is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., and is founded and led by industry inventors and scientists including co‑founder Dr. Yet‑Ming Chiang and President & CEO Naoki Ota. 24M commercializes its SemiSolid™ lithium‑ion manufacturing platform that mixes electrolyte with active materials to form a binder‑free, clay‑like slurry. The process eliminates significant inactive materials and capital‑intensive steps such as drying and electrolyte filling, aiming to dramatically reduce manufacturing cost. 24M says the platform delivers market‑leading price‑performance and that it has improved cell performance and safety. The company is working with licensee partners, including Kyocera and GPSC, which have expanded commercial operations. Proceeds from the financing will be used to commercialize the SemiSolid manufacturing process and expand technology development programs for grid storage and electric vehicle applications. 24M is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., and is led by industry inventors, scientists and entrepreneurs. 24M commercializes a SemiSolid lithium-ion battery design and a novel, capital-efficient manufacturing process that uses electrolyte as the processing solvent. The process eliminates steps such as drying, solvent recovery, calendaring and electrolyte filling, and reduces the need for inactive materials like copper, aluminum and separator. 24M says this approach yields a structural bill-of-materials advantage and lower manufacturing cost while enabling high energy density cell designs not previously possible. The company has used a semi-automated pilot facility to advance cell design and production readiness. 24M is targeting both the low-cost grid market and the high energy density requirements of the EV market and says it is ready to scale globally. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.