The startup Base Power raised an additional $1 billion in a Series D funding round, less than a year after a previous round of the same value, at a time when demand for electricity is increasing as a result of the shift toward electrification and the rapid construction of artificial intelligence data centers. The round brings the company’s post-money valuation to $13 billion.
Base Power differs from energy-storage companies that typically seek large areas near major grid interconnection points; it focuses on installing batteries in customers’ homes and using them as a distributed storage network. The company has installed more than 500 megawatt-hours of storage capacity in recent years and is currently installing about 100 batteries per day, according to a report cited by The Wall Street Journal, while targeting a doubling of this rate by the end of the year. The current rate amounts to approximately 8 megawatt-hours of installed storage capacity per day.
New Home Battery
Base Power announced the same day a new version of its home batteries called Base Core. The battery is manufactured at the company’s plant in Austin, Texas, and has a capacity of 39.2 kilowatt-hours, a capacity far greater than that of competitors’ batteries, according to the source material. Customers can choose to install one or two batteries.
The company currently operates in Texas and Illinois, and the batteries allow homeowners to power their homes during outages. With a capacity approaching 40 kilowatt-hours, the battery can provide backup power for a day or more, depending on usage.
Subscription Model Instead of Upfront Payment
Instead of asking customers to pay thousands of dollars upfront, Base Power uses a subscription-based model. In the Houston area, the company charges $695 to install one battery and $19 per month, in addition to 13.1 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity, a price close to the prevailing rate in the area.
Base Power owns the batteries and sells the stored electricity to the grid during periods of high demand, services that can generate high returns. In regulated markets, the company works with utilities to place batteries in customers’ homes to ease pressure on the local grid. In both regulated and deregulated markets, homeowners benefit from the batteries as a backup source during power outages.
Growing Pressure on the Grid
The round comes amid rising electricity demand across the economy, in addition to the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence data centers. After decades of stagnation, the U.S. power grid has expanded in recent years, but the increase in demand has placed pressure on multiple areas, most notably the PJM region, which hosts a large number of data centers. Parts of Illinois, where Base Power operates, fall within the PJM area.
The round was led by Ribbit, Addition, Valor Equity Partners, and JPMorganChase’s strategic investment group, with participation from Altimeter, D1 Capital Partners, Sands Capital, Coatue, Layer Global, Energy Impact Partners, Thrive Capital, a16z, Lightspeed, Trust Ventures, CapitalG, and others.
Base Power was co-founded by Zach Dell, who serves as chief executive officer. His father, Michael Dell, chief executive officer of Dell, did not participate in the round.