Key facts
- Base Power raised $1 billion in Series D funding.
- The company's valuation is $13 billion post-money.
- Base Power installs batteries in residential backyards on a subscription basis.
- The new Base Core battery stores 39.2 kWh of electricity.
- Increased electricity demand is attributed to electrification and AI data centers.
- Base Power operates in Texas and Illinois.
Base Power, an energy storage startup, has secured $1 billion in Series D funding, less than a year after its previous billion-dollar round. The company is valued at $13 billion post-money and focuses on installing batteries in residential backyards rather than large land tracts. This strategy aims to meet the escalating demand for electricity, driven by economy-wide electrification and the rapid expansion of AI data centers.
Base Power is currently installing approximately 100 batteries per day, totaling over 500 megawatt-hours of storage installed in recent years. The company also introduced its new home battery, Base Core, which offers a significantly larger storage capacity of 39.2 kilowatt-hours, with options for one or two units per household. Base Power operates in Texas and Illinois, with portions of Illinois falling within the PJM territory, an area experiencing strain on its electrical grid.
Unlike many competitors that require substantial upfront payments, Base Power offers its batteries on a subscription basis. For instance, in the Houston area, customers pay a $695 installation fee for a single battery, followed by a $19 monthly subscription and a per-kilowatt-hour electricity charge. Base Power retains ownership of the batteries and sells stored electricity back to the grid during peak demand periods, a service that can be highly profitable. In regulated markets, the company collaborates with utilities to place batteries in homes to ease grid strain, while in both regulated and deregulated markets, these batteries provide crucial backup power during blackouts. The latest funding round was led by Ribbit, Addition, Valor Equity Partners, and JPMorganChase’s Strategic Investment Group, with participation from several other prominent investors.