Moment Energy, a startup based in British Columbia specializing in the repurposing of used electric vehicle batteries, has secured a $40 million funding round. The capital will support the development of an extensive manufacturing facility in Texas and enable the company to expand its workforce by more than three times its current size.
The Vancouver-area company has now accumulated over $100 million in total funding. Moment Energy addresses the increasing need for energy storage solutions serving data centers, utilities, residential applications and industrial facilities.
Co-founder and CEO Edward Chiang stated that the company is creating a new category of energy infrastructure capable of quick deployment, domestic production and operation using existing battery resources.
The company was established in 2019 by four Simon Fraser University engineering alumni: Chiang, Sumreen Rattan, Gabriel Soares and Gurmesh Sidhu. Their initial battery system was installed in 2021 on Quadra Island, located off Vancouver Island’s coast.
Construction has commenced on a 200,000-square-foot gigafactory in the Austin area, where the company already maintains an operational team. When the facility becomes fully operational, Moment Energy anticipates employing 250 workers, compared to its current staff of more than 70.
The startup has begun rolling out commercial projects and serves clients throughout North America, including prominent technology firms and international airports.
Moment Energy’s business approach leverages the natural lifespan of EV batteries, which typically maintain 70-80% of their initial capacity following approximately 10 to 20 years of automotive service. The company takes apart these batteries, evaluates their remaining power capacity and reconstructs them into stationary energy storage units that can function for as long as 30 years.
Additionally, the company has obtained various safety certifications, positioning it as the sole provider capable of installing repurposed battery systems in built environments without requiring special permissions.
The Series B funding was spearheaded by Evok Innovations, joined by Liberty Mutual Investments, W23 Global Fund and Acario, the corporate venture capital division of Tokyo Gas. Previous backers including Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Voyager Ventures and In-Q-Tel also contributed to this round.
Marty Reed, a partner at Evok Innovations, noted that Moment Energy stands alone in the EV battery repurposing sector by demonstrating that safety and scalability can coexist, positioning the company to deliver energy storage solutions on a massive scale.
The company functions within an expanding industry. Additional firms concentrating on battery repurposing include Redwood Materials, founded by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, along with RePurpose Energy. Companies focused on battery recycling include Cirba Solutions, Ascend Elements, Li-Cycle and Ecobat, while Redwood Materials participates in both recycling and repurposing activities.
The Texas facility represents a significant milestone for Moment Energy as it works to establish itself as a leader in sustainable energy storage. By transforming batteries that have completed their automotive lifecycle into long-lasting stationary power systems, the company addresses both environmental concerns and the growing demand for reliable energy storage infrastructure across various sectors.