Yotta Energy Closes $5M Seed Round to Commercialize Panel-Level, PV-Coupled Energy Storage Technology

NOVEMBER 10, 2020 — Yotta Energy announced today that the company has closed a $5M Seed Round to finalize UL certification and commence commercial production of its disruptive panel-level, PV-Coupled™ energy storage technology. The investors for this round include Fiftysix Investments, EDP Ventures, Skyview Ventures and other undisclosed investors.

“Our team has proven the value proposition of our unique solar-plus-storage technology and its ability to cost-effectively contribute to a world powered by renewable energy,” said Yotta Energy CEO, Omeed Badkoobeh. “We are thrilled to share the news as we begin to build the infrastructure needed to help capture the commercial rooftop solar market in the U.S.”

Yotta’s patented thermal management system for batteries enables a decentralized format for solar-plus-storage which is ideal for rooftop commercial and industrial applications. Yotta’s panel-level energy storage solution can easily fit under any solar module, neatly integrating with the solar racking array. Its format follows the success of module-level power electronics (MLPE) which has become the dominant technology offering in the industry. The plug-and-play design simplifies and standardizes the integration of energy storage with solar projects, eliminating the need for heavy, difficult to install enclosures and complicated HVAC systems. Additionally, Yotta’s passive thermal management technology allows its batteries to withstand extreme weather and extend their lifespan.

”The Yotta team have innovated a solar-plus-storage solution perfect for the small to medium commercial markets – a key growth market globally,” said Ray Rothrock, FiftySix Investments founder.  “Yotta’s decentralized format can easily scale and fits the market direction, while also significantly reducing the costs of rooftop solar-plus-storage installations.”

“Yotta’s unique solution streamlines the installation of storage coupled with rooftop PV units, allowing for important cost savings. We believe this is decisive to allow the scale up of distributed storage in the C&I segment,” said Luís Manuel, Executive Director of EDP Ventures.

Wood Mackenzie has estimated that the United States is sitting on 145GW of unused solar potential. It further anticipates annual global energy storage deployments to increase from 11 gigawatt-hours in 2020 to 164 gigawatt-hours in 2030, reaching a cumulative 741 gigawatt-hours, the large majority being tied to solar.

“There is not a cost-effective commercial energy storage solution available today and improvements in battery costs and efficiencies only solve part of the problem”, suggests Matt Coleman, Principal at Skyview Ventures. “Yotta’s patented solution takes a whole system design approach which will facilitate the commercial rooftop solar and storage market.”

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), “the long-term success of the solar industry depends on the cost-effective integration of storage.”  Many states, like Massachusetts, Virginia, and California, have regulated energy storage goals, and will need innovations like Yotta Energy to attain those goals.