Our Next Energy, a US-based maker of batteries for electric vehicles, reported that it closed a $300 million Series B funding on Wednesday. This round takes the valuation of the startup that is three years old to $1.2 billion.
Our Next Energy is now among the most valuable privately held battery companies in the country according to the most recent round, which was led by investors Franklin Templeton and Fifth Wall.
Reuters reports that the Chief Executive Mujeeb Ijaz stated during an interview that ONE will start producing Aries II lithium iron phosphate cells at a new factory in Van Buren Township in southeast Michigan next year. Prototypes of its Aries I battery pack are now being delivered to various businesses for testing.
Ijaz estimated that the plant’s capacity will increase from its initial 2 gigawatt-hours to 10 GWh by 2026 and 20 GWh by 2027. A prototype line for the company’s dual-chemistry Gemini cells, which ONE plans to start manufacturing in 2026, will be located at the plant, which will eventually create Aries II packs.
ONE is reportedly negotiating with potential battery raw material suppliers situated in North America, which might allow the business and its clients to benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act’s benefits.
Temasek, Coatue, Riverstone Holdings, AI Capital Partners, and Sente Ventures are a few of the investors in the most recent round.
In Ijaz words, “These are the kind of investors that are not worried about current economic conditions as much as they are focused on this century-level transition to electrification.”
According to Reuters, the Series B round included a previously closed $62.5 million convertible note with BMW iVentures, Assembly Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Volta Energy Technologies, Flex, and Coatue.
