Our Next Energy (ONE) raised $300 million in Series B equity led by Fifth Wall and Franklin Templeton
Michigan-based energy storage technology company, Our Next Energy Inc. (ONE) recently announced the closing of a $300 million Series B capital raise at a post-money valuation of $1.2 billion. It has signed ten customer agreements for its products, totalling 36 GWh over the next five years. The energy storage company further said that it is preparing for phase two factory investments ahead of plan.
With the latest fund-raise, the company is valued at over $1 billion. Notably, the $300 million of equity financing is joined with $220 million in grants from the state of Michigan for a total of more than $500 million to fund ONE’s battery cell factory.
While Fifth Wall and Franklin Templeton led the round, they were joined by ONE’s Series A investors and new growth equity investors Temasek, Riverstone Holdings and Coatue. Interestingly, two undisclosed strategic investors also participated in this funding round, including a manufacturer of EV technology solutions and a renewable energy provider, representing cell offtake agreements. While jotting down other details, the company mentioned that two new venture equity investors, AI Capital Partners (Alpha Intelligence Capital’s U.S.-based fund) and Sente Ventures (in conjunction with TR.PE), also participated in the round.
Calling batteries a fundamental component of the global energy transition economy, Peter Gajdoš, Partner & Co-Head of The Climate Technology Investment Team at Fifth Wall said: “ONE is firmly at the forefront of driving this systemic shift. We believe ONE’s next-generation mobility and stationary storage applications are a game changer and are set to transform the $100B+ battery market. We’re thrilled to be a part of the company’s category-defining growth.”
CEO & Founder of ONE, Mujeeb Ijaz remarked: “Closing this fundraising round is an important milestone for 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 fueled by growth capital. That’s important in this environment where urgent demand for U.S.-based cell manufacturing is on the rise, supported by the Inflation Reduction Act, in a true public-private partnership.”
It is noteworthy that ONE Circle is the company’s first battery cell factory and its exterior construction was completed in December 2022. It is located in Van Buren Township, Michigan.
The company pointed out that in conjunction with Franklin Templeton’s investment in ONE’s Series B, Richard Piliero, an MD at Franklin Templeton, will join ONE’s Board of Directors. Piliero has over 23 years of private equity experience.
It must be noted that ONE closed a $62.5 mn convertible note in January 2022 as part of Series B. BMW i Ventures led the note and was joined by Assembly Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Coatue, Flex and Volta Energy Technologies.
With the vision to double the range of EVs, the Michigan-based energy storage technology company, Our Next Energy Inc. (ONE) was established in 2020 to focus on engineering batteries that will accelerate electrification.
