EDF continues energy storage push with PowerUp investment
EDF has invested in cleantech startup PowerUp in a bid to support its 10GW of storage by 2035 ambitions.
Alongside EDF, PowerUp has received funding from its historic investor Supernova Invest as well as business angels.
The company aims to extend the lifetime and optimize the performance of lithium-ion batteries using measure, act, predict (MAP) technology. It diagnoses and measures the real state of health of the batteries, a system that it said guarantees their autonomy, and uses dynamic charging based on the battery’s health, use and environment to boost the lifetime by up to 100%.
PowerUp can also predict the lifetime of batteries according to usage scenarios, which allows them to be replaced at the right time.
Having previously run a trial with EDF – as well as trials with Schneider Electric, Crédit Agricole Nord Midi-Pyrénées and SNCF Réseau – PowerUp has now signed a partnership with EDF R&D to accelerate the development of more effective algorithms for predicting and diagnosing battery health.
EDF R&D’s test facilities will be used for this, with Carmen Munoz, director of downstream activities at EDF R&D stating the partnership will help to “boost competitiveness”.
The investment by EDF forms part of its plans to install 10GW of new storage capacity by 2035. Already it has acquired battery storage and electric vehicle charging firm Pivot Power, which announced in 2018 plans to deploy 2GW of battery storage.
PowerUp said its technology will help EDF to gain a competitive edge in energy storage solutions and the execution of energy storage projects.
Following this latest funding round, PowerUp intends to speed up its growth by recruiting 25 new employees in engineering and marketing and sales within the next two years, strengthen its leadership position in the French market and expand its business in Europe and North America and adapt its technology to renewable energy storage applications.
Josselin Priour, CEO and co-founder of PowerUp, said: “In 2021, we will be embarking on a phase of increased production, and this capital will support our growth.
“Behind this growth lies a real need: more than ever before, we need to increase the lifetime of our batteries to ensure greener energy production.”
Source : current-news
