Energy storage startup Cactos has developed a way to give old Tesla batteries new life by turning them into smart-energy storage units. Along with its proprietary cloud-based software, the units can optimise energy consumption, provide uninterrupted power, hedge against market volatility, and provide demand response to the grid.
The company has just raised €2.5M in funding led by VC firm Superhero Capital, with participation from Cactos’s founders, to fund the company’s growth, including increased energy storage unit production, production facility expansion, and international projects.
The units enable a consistent energy supply through usage peaks or blackouts and optimisation that maximises the benefit of lower electricity prices.
In addition, the energy storage units stabilise the transmission grid by balancing supply and demand. When there is a shortage of electricity, the units automatically discharge energy into the grid, and if there is excess production, the units absorb energy.
The energy storage units are made from re-used Tesla EV batteries, making them one of the market’s most environmentally friendly energy storage units. They also provide an excellent end-of-life solution for the electrification of transport and for promoting a circular economy.
With its current production operating at maximum capacity, the company will more than double its factory size in early 2023, allowing for nearly a 10-fold increase in unit production.
Turning up the heat – market demand for Cactos’s solution has been exceptionally strong just 9 months after being founded.
“Companies are concerned about electricity supply and market volatility. The coming winter will be very difficult, but the longer-term outlook with energy transition and temporal imbalance in supply and demand means there is a huge need for different ways to store energy. To service the market at large, our target was to create an energy storage solution that is carefree for the user and easily accessible. I believe we have succeeded in doing that – the Cactos One requires no upfront investment and operates independently,”_ says Cactos CEO Oskari Jaakkola.
