A German startup replacing fossil fuel generators used to power construction, film sets, music festivals, and first responders has just raised $95 million in a Series C funding round.
Founded in 2018, Instagrid is set on making clean energy portable via its electric battery system, which it claims is smaller, lighter, and more powerful than competitors. The startup puts this down to its use of multiple smaller batteries, software, and the way stored electricity is converted into usable energy.
Cofounder and co-CEO Sebastian Berning likened the setup to cloud computing.
“What people did before, if they needed more computational power, they built bigger and bigger and bigger computers – so these mainframe computers that you had in the early 90s,” he told Business Insider.
Big tech companies, however, tore up the rulebook and scaled outwards, taking “a lot of cheap desktop grade computers,” putting them on shelves in massive scale, then using software so that they work together as one big computer.
“We’re doing something similar to the power conversion,” Berning said.
The distributed design means that it’s more resilient because if one battery fails, the overall unit can operate with minimal disruption, he added. It can also be passively cooled, meaning it doesn’t need air vents, so the casing can be closed, allowing it to work in wet and dusty weather conditions.
Instagrid’s current 2.1 kWh system can power welding and heavy-duty equipment for a full day on one charge; hit full charge in under two and a half hours; has 150 hours of idle time; and can be charged using a standard 300V plug socket.
Its customers, which buy units for use or to rent on to others, include Swedish construction company Skanska, European construction rental company Loxaml, and the Red Cross.
The round was led by Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), which is part of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Morgan Stanley’s climate fund 1GT and existing investors Energy Impact Partners, SET Ventures, and others also participated in the round.
The fresh funds will be used to expand the rollout of the current system and launch additional powerful electric generator systems. Instagrid will release a low-voltage model in the second quarter of the year as well as accessories, including one to combine multiple systems so they can work together.
Having cemented its presence in Europe, the company will also expand into North America, where it will have boots on the ground. Currently a team of 150, headcount will grow to 500 internationally in the next three years.
It is also riding political tailwinds as many policymakers have introduced clean air laws, Berning said. Specifically, California has passed legislation to ban gas generators in 2028. Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act also offers some benefits for manufacturing such equipment.
Instagrid is also working on a large-scale power unit for 2025, at about 200 kWh.
The cash injection brings the company’s total raised to $145 million.
Check out the 23-slide pitch deck below:
