‘Next generation’ battery startup secures $300m

Backed by Fifth Wall and Franklin Templeton, Our Next Energy secured a $1.2bn valuation as it aims to fill a gap in the global transition to clean electricity.

The startup is developing “next generation” batteries that it hopes will last longer, be safer and use more sustainable raw materials than batteries today. That will be particularly important as the world moves from fossil fuels to clean sources of energy to power everything from buildings to cars.

Alongside a $300m Series B fundraise, ONE has also received $220m in grants from the state of Michigan to help fund its battery cell gigafactory.

Manufacturing LFP – lithium-iron phosphate – and anode-free batteries, the factory will also process materials and connect to the grid to offer local areas energy storage capabilities.

Mujeeb Ijaz, CEO and founder of ONE, said: “Closing this fundraising round is an important milestone or ONE as we focus on launching our first LFP cell factory in 2024.

“We are transitioning from a startup funded by venture capital to a manufacturer fuelled by growth capital. That’s important in the environment where urgent demand for US-based cell manufacturing is on the rise, supported by the Inflation Reduction Act, in a true public-private partnership.”

The funding round was led by Fifth Wall and Franklin Templeton and joined by ONE’s Series A investors and new growth equity investors Temasek, Riverstone Holdings and Coatue.

Other investors included AI Capital Parnters and Sente Ventures.

Peter Gajdoš, partner and co-head of the climate technology investment team at Fifth Wall, said: “Batteries are a fundamental component of the global energy transition economy.

“ONE is firmly at the forefront of driving this systemic shift. We believe ONE’s next generation mobility and stationary storage applications are a gamechanger and are set to transform the $100bn+ battery market.”

In conjunction with Franklin Templeton’s investment in ONE’s Series B, Richard Piliero, a managing director at Franklin Templeton, will join ONE’s board of directors.