{"id":655558,"date":"2025-03-04T10:00:33","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T07:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/moonwatt-secures-8-3m-to-dial-up-solars-staying-power-with-sodium-ion-storage\/"},"modified":"2025-03-04T10:00:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T07:00:33","slug":"moonwatt-secures-8-3m-to-dial-up-solars-staying-power-with-sodium-ion-storage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/moonwatt-secures-8-3m-to-dial-up-solars-staying-power-with-sodium-ion-storage\/","title":{"rendered":"#Moonwatt secures $8.3M to dial up solar\u2019s staying power with sodium-ion storage"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4ea671ce275\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4ea671ce275\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/moonwatt-secures-8-3m-to-dial-up-solars-staying-power-with-sodium-ion-storage\/#Getting_more_juice_out_of_PV\" >Getting more juice out of PV<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/moonwatt-secures-8-3m-to-dial-up-solars-staying-power-with-sodium-ion-storage\/#Seed_funding_to_step_on_the_gas\" >Seed funding to step on the gas<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p id=\"speakable-summary\" class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The drive to decarbonize our economies through electrification and clean energy continues to generate momentum around battery technologies, as storage has a key role to play in enabling the green transition. While renewables are clean sources of energy compared to burning fossil fuels, their power output isn\u2019t always consistent. In the case of solar \u2014 which has seen a massive rise in deployments in recent years \u2014 once the sun stops shining on the photovoltaic cells, the electricity generation gets shut off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One solution for regulating the variability of solar plants is to store energy when there\u2019s a glut (during daylight hours). This way, the stored power can be made available at other times, including to serve periods of higher demand \u2014 which are also, typically, later in the day when there\u2019s less sunshine around.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.moonwatt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Moonwatt<\/a>, a clean tech startup founded in September last year in the Netherlands, is working on a battery-based energy storage system that\u2019s co-located with, and optimized for, solar power plants to help them manage this variability. The team designed dedicated battery enclosure hardware, inverter power electronics to connect to the grid and the software needed to integrate and manage the storage system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The startup says its <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach will enable solar plants to increase their revenue by being able to sell more solar energy (including when the price of energy is more attractive) and decrease costs at the plant level because the design mutualizes some of the electrical infrastructure. Target solar plants are those producing at least a few hundred kilowatts of energy \u2014 so basically anything other than residential photovoltaics deployments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Notably, Moonwatt\u2019s system is being built around sodium-ion cells for the batteries that will store the solar energy. The <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> offers an enticing alternative to lithium-ion since production relies on cheaper (and easier to source) raw materials, helping to keep costs down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While sodium-ion batteries can have size and weight challenges owing to being lower density than lithium-ion cells \u2014 making certain applications challenging (such as mobility\/EVs, where weight is an important consideration) \u2014 the technology has been gaining traction as a lower cost storage option for renewables where conditions are more favorable, given these are stationary installations at sites with plenty of space to install kit. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-getting-more-juice-out-of-pv\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Getting_more_juice_out_of_PV\"><\/span>Getting more juice out of PV<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moonwatt\u2019s pitch to solar power plants is that their energy storage system allows them to increase their capacity factor up to 80%. Plants that buy in will be able to double their internal rate of return (IRR), they also suggest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBasically, what we allow our partner to do is to double their return,\u201d co-founder and chief commercial officer, Valentin Rota, tells TechCrunch. \u201cSo in AAA [credit-rating] country, I would say an average PV [photovoltaic] asset is around, let\u2019s say 8% to 12% return \u2014 IRR \u2014 and we will bring the asset up to around 20%.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The startup\u2019s founding trio \u2014 along with CEO Zukui Hu and CTO Guillaume Mancini \u2014 met while working on battery tech for Tesla almost a decade ago. They have continued working together since then at different employers and across various projects, including gaining experience on small-scale, off-grid solar storage. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe started to see this application first starting on what we call micro grids, so usually a small grid-resistant generator,\u201d recounts Rota. \u201cBut as the cost of batteries went down and the cost of storage went down actually those applications started to arrive in bigger countries on bigger grids, and it\u2019s really driven by the fundamental pace of solar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The founders had also worked together at battery manufacturer Freyr (since rebranded as Ti Energy). And once they saw costs moving in the right direction Rota says the spark for setting up Moonwatt \u2014 named for an energetic play on \u2018moonshot\u2019, we presume \u2014 was realizing that they could combine their knowledge of battery hardware and applying battery technologies to power up solar storage gains. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe realized that this application \u2014 solar storage \u2014 is the backbone of the future world power grid, but there is no product dedicated to it yet,\u201d he says. \u201cSo that\u2019s what Moonwatt is about: it\u2019s about making the first solar-dedicated battery storage product.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the volume of solar energy being produced globally continues to surge the startup\u2019s bet is that the industry will start looking for dedicated storage rather than making do with a \u201ccookie cutter\u201d product.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moonwatt\u2019s \u201cbig differentiators\u201d, per Rota, include the use of sodium-ion battery technology \u2014 which he says offers better scalability, cost reduction and carbon footprint reduction than lithium-ion. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The design of their storage system also uses a distributed architecture (rather than being centralized), making it easier for plants to integrate as he tells it. He also says the approach they\u2019re taking allows for greater efficiency and a reduction in the cost of dispatchable electricity thanks to connecting storage much closer to panels that are at peak output. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur overarching goal, using these three features, is to reduce the cost of electricity of these dispatchable solar plants,\u201d he adds. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-seed-funding-to-step-on-the-gas\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Seed_funding_to_step_on_the_gas\"><\/span>Seed funding to step on the gas<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While it\u2019s still early for this (just) months-old business and its prototype product, Moonwatt has now closed an \u20ac8 million seed funding round (around $8.3 million at current exchange rates) to step on the gas and get their storage tech to market \u2014 starting with a pilot installation that\u2019s being planned for somewhere in Europe next year. They then expect to be in a position to do their first commercial deployments in 2027.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The seed round is co-led by Daphni and LEA Partners, with participation from Founders Future, AFI Ventures (by Ventech) and Kima Ventures, alongside strategic business angels and customers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Commenting in a supporting statement, Paul Bazin, Partner at Daphni, suggests Moonwatt\u2019s approach is \u201cthe breakthrough the industry has been missing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cRenewable power growth has exceeded all expectations, but we\u2019re approaching a tipping point where it won\u2019t be able to scale further without better energy storage,\u201d he said. \u201cCreated by industry veterans, Moonwatt is solving this with a differentiated storage product built specifically for solar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe very much nurture an ambition to be a gigawatt-hour player, a large-scale player because we want to make an impact,\u201d Rota also tells us. \u201cAnd with the scale comes costs. And we know that in this industry it\u2019s a bottom-line-driven business, so we have to be cost competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rota says the decision to focus on solar energy boils down to attractive economics and the already broad uptake of this type of renewable energy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSolar is interesting because it\u2019s \u2014 on a cost per megawatt hour basis \u2014 very competitive and getting more so,\u201d he notes. \u201cBut it\u2019s also that solar is a bit more ubiquitous. It\u2019s being deployed in more than 120 countries per year already.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Optimizing just for solar means the startup can fully focus on making design choices that are intended to help plants get the most out of their asset, including when it comes to shrinking the costs of connecting their energy to the grid.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLooking ahead, the way to reduce [solar energy] costs is by reducing the overall balance of plant costs. So you need to reduce the number of transformer cable, etc. And the way you do this is you couple the solar and the storage, not at medium voltage level, but actually at low voltage level \u2014 really next to each other,\u201d he suggests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBy doing so, they share the same electrical infrastructure to connect to the grid. And if we extend a bit the view to more like a country level, this optimizing the use of grid capacity is also something we will have to do. Because, today, a stand alone solar plant uses its grid capacity only about 20% of the time, but when you add storage behind the meter, you can really shift energy usage around so you make a more efficient use of this grid capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The startup business at hand is also about helping solar plants switch from being developers with a feed in tariff to \u2014 \u201calmost\u201d \u2014 becoming energy traders with a flexible asset, he adds. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2025\/03\/03\/moonwatt-secures-8-3m-to-dial-up-solars-staying-power-with-sodium-ion-storage\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The drive to decarbonize our economies through electrification and clean energy continues to generate momentum around battery technologies, as storage has a key role to play in enabling the green transition. While renewables are clean sources of energy compared to burning fossil fuels, their power output isn\u2019t always consistent. In the case of solar \u2014&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":655559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Moonwatt-Founders.jpg?resize=1200,900","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[77143,52711,154669,154670,154671,70917,74782],"class_list":["post-655558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-climate","tag-hardware","tag-moonwatt","tag-sodium-ion","tag-solar-storage","tag-startups","tag-the-netherlands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}