Strategic Funding and Investor Synergy
The funding round was led by the British Business Bank, a state-owned economic development bank in the United Kingdom, signaling strong institutional support for domestic green technology. The participation of several high-profile strategic investors further underscores the industry’s confidence in Certain Energy’s potential. Notable participants included Centrica, the UK’s leading energy and services company; Ceres Power Holdings, a leader in electrochemical technology; and Temasek Trust’s Catalytic Capital for Climate and Health (C3H), which focuses on high-impact environmental solutions.
The diversity of the investor pool suggests a multifaceted approach to market entry. Centrica’s involvement provides a direct link to utility-scale application and grid management expertise, while Ceres Power offers technical synergy in electrochemical systems. The inclusion of Temasek Trust’s C3H points toward a global ambition, particularly in emerging markets where energy infrastructure is rapidly evolving. The proceeds from this Series A round will be utilized to transition the company from the research and development phase into volume production. This includes the expansion of research facilities in the United Kingdom, the establishment of a robust supply chain, and the development of a flagship megawatt-hour (MWh) class system in India.
The Technological Advantage: Manganese-Based Flow Batteries
At the core of Certain Energy’s value proposition is its innovative use of manganese, the twelfth most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. Founded in 2017 as a spin-off from Imperial College London under the name RFC Power, the company has spent nearly a decade perfecting a flow battery chemistry that circumvents the limitations of traditional lithium-ion and vanadium-based systems.
Unlike conventional solid-state batteries, where power and energy capacity are inextricably linked within the cell structure, flow batteries store energy in liquid electrolytes contained in external tanks. To increase the duration of the energy discharge, one simply needs to increase the volume of the electrolyte tanks. This decoupling of power (the rate of energy flow) and energy (the total amount of stored power) makes flow batteries uniquely suited for long-duration applications, ranging from several hours to multiple days.
Certain Energy’s manganese-based approach offers several distinct advantages:
- Cost Efficiency: The company claims its technology can reduce marginal storage costs to approximately one-tenth of those associated with vanadium flow batteries. Vanadium is a relatively rare and expensive metal often subject to price volatility. Manganese, by contrast, is widely available and inexpensive.
- Performance: The system achieves a round-trip efficiency of over 75%. While lithium-ion batteries often boast higher efficiencies for short-term bursts, Certain Energy’s technology remains economically competitive for the "long-tail" of grid services, where the cost per kilowatt-hour of storage over time is the primary metric.
- Sustainability and Safety: Using earth-abundant materials reduces the environmental footprint associated with mining rare earth metals. Furthermore, flow batteries are inherently non-flammable, offering a safer alternative for large-scale grid installations compared to the thermal runaway risks associated with some lithium-ion chemistries.
Chronology of Development and Market Context
The journey of Certain Energy reflects the broader evolution of the energy storage sector. Following its inception at Imperial College in 2017, the company spent its formative years in the "lab-to-pilot" phase, focusing on the fundamental electrochemistry required to make manganese a viable medium for energy storage. In the early 2020s, the company rebranded from RFC Power to Certain Energy, reflecting a strategic shift toward commercial readiness and brand clarity.
The timing of this $13.6 million infusion is critical. The global energy landscape has reached a tipping point where the intermittent nature of renewables is causing significant economic friction. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the "curtailment" of renewable energy—where wind farms are paid to shut down because the grid cannot handle the surge in production—has become a multi-billion-pound problem. According to Mark Selby, Executive Chair of Certain Energy, the UK government spent roughly £1.5 billion on curtailment payments last year alone. Without adequate long-duration storage, this figure is projected to skyrocket to £8 billion annually by 2030.
Addressing the Global Grid Crisis
The expansion into India is a cornerstone of Certain Energy’s growth strategy. India represents one of the world’s most dynamic energy markets, with a government mandate to reach 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. However, the rapid integration of solar and wind into a legacy grid has created immense pressure on stability. By deploying a MWh-class system in India, Certain Energy aims to demonstrate that its technology can perform under diverse environmental conditions and meet the rigorous demands of an emerging economy’s industrial grid.
In the UK, the focus remains on supporting the National Grid’s transition. The British Business Bank’s involvement is a testament to the strategic importance of energy sovereignity. Charlotte Lawrence, Managing Director and Head of Direct Equity at the British Business Bank, noted that the investment is intended to help the company commercialize and take the necessary steps toward global deployment. By fostering domestic LDES technology, the UK aims to reduce its reliance on imported battery minerals and create a high-tech export industry.
Comparative Analysis: LDES vs. Lithium-Ion
While lithium-ion batteries currently dominate the energy storage market, particularly in electric vehicles (EVs) and short-duration grid balancing (under 4 hours), they face significant scaling challenges for long-duration needs. Lithium prices remain sensitive to EV demand, and the degradation of lithium cells over thousands of deep-discharge cycles can lead to high replacement costs in grid settings.
Certain Energy’s manganese flow battery is positioned to fill the "missing middle" and "long-duration" gaps in the energy market. For durations exceeding six hours, the cost-benefit analysis shifts heavily in favor of flow batteries. Because the energy-carrying component (the electrolyte) is separate from the power-generating component (the cell stack), the cost of adding extra hours of storage is essentially just the cost of the plastic tanks and the manganese solution. This makes the technology an ideal partner for "firming" renewable energy—turning a variable wind farm into a "baseload" power plant that can provide electricity even when the wind isn’t blowing.
Official Responses and Strategic Vision
The leadership at Certain Energy views this funding not just as a financial win, but as a validation of their technical roadmap. Mark Selby emphasized that the technology is now "ready for the real world." He highlighted that the primary obstacle to a 100% renewable grid is no longer the cost of generation—as wind and solar are now among the cheapest forms of electricity—but the cost of storage. By utilizing abundant materials, Certain Energy believes it has cracked the code for affordable, scalable LDES.
From the investor perspective, the Series A round represents a calculated bet on the next generation of infrastructure. Centrica and Ceres Power are looking for technologies that can integrate with their existing portfolios to provide comprehensive energy solutions to commercial and industrial clients. For Temasek Trust, the investment aligns with a broader mandate to fund "catalytic" technologies that offer a high probability of mitigating climate change while improving public health through reduced reliance on fossil fuel "peaker" plants, which are often major sources of local air pollution.
Implications for the Net-Zero Transition
The successful scaling of Certain Energy’s technology could have profound implications for global energy policy. If the cost of long-duration storage can indeed be reduced to a fraction of current costs, the economic argument for maintaining coal or gas-fired backup plants vanishes. This would allow for a much faster decommissioning of fossil fuel assets without risking grid blackouts.
Furthermore, the focus on a manganese-based supply chain offers a path toward "green" energy that is less geopolitically fraught. Unlike cobalt or lithium, which are concentrated in a few specific geographic regions, manganese is widely distributed globally. This allows for more localized supply chains, reducing the carbon footprint of the battery production process itself and enhancing national energy security.
As Certain Energy moves forward with its MWh-class system in India and the expansion of its UK facilities, the industry will be watching closely. The transition from a successful Series A round to a commercially viable, grid-scale product is a challenging path, but with the backing of major institutional and strategic investors, Certain Energy is well-positioned to lead the charge in the long-duration energy storage revolution. The ultimate goal is a grid that is not only clean but certain—capable of providing reliable power every hour of every day, regardless of the weather.
