Moixa raises £8.6m for AI battery management
The cash will be used to boost the international rollout of its AI battery management software used to aggregate battery capacity to provide grid services.
Moixa developed patented GridShare technology that manages home energy storage systems in 7000 homes in the UK and Japan. This aggregates 70MWh of capacity, which can be used to support the grid and provide a range of flexibility services.
“We are helping major brands make the transition to a low-carbon world of EVs, smart charging, and home energy generation and storage, by providing smart software which cuts costs for their customers and helps support the electricity network,” said Simon Daniel, CEO of Moixa (above).
“GridShare uses artificial intelligence to learn about each owner’s energy use and develop a unique charging plan to meet their needs and maximise savings,” he said. “It knows when it’s most cost effective to buy energy from or sell energy to the grid. It will soon know whether it’s better to charge your car battery or use it to power your home. Our investors recognise that there will be global demand for this technology. Today we are managing thousands of batteries and our goal is to manage millions.”
Contrarian Ventures is a new investor. “Energy storage is one of the most essential elements in the sustainable energy transition. By managing thousands of batteries as a “virtual power plant”, Moixa’s innovative GridShare software is tackling some of the biggest challenges caused by the rapid uptake of renewables,” said Rokas Peciulaitis, Managing Partner at Contrarian Ventures.
The deal follows Honda and Moixa announcing a partnership at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2019 to develop a European energy management business for Europe for its electric vehicle (EV) customers and power system operators.
Moixa has shown how EV smart charging can help homes at peak times, and how smart charging can support the grid, managing demand and providing a range of flexibility services. It plans to work with Honda on further V2G (vehicle-to-grid) trials in the UK.
Moixa’s partnership with ITOCHU saw it expand rapidly into Japan last year and integrate GridShare into the company’s Smart Star batteries. ITOCHU is the second biggest player in Japan’s home energy storage market with a 17% share.
Moixa is now managing ITOCHU batteries in 6,000 Japanese homes, with a combined capacity of 60MWh. Moixa and ITOCHU are also exploring the potential of creating a virtual power plant (VPP) by using the capacity from the fleet of batteries to provide grid balancing.
“Japan and the UK are both energy islands, producing the majority of their electricity locally. Japanese companies recognise our expertise in managing large fleets of batteries and aggregating their spare capacity to help the grid accommodate large swings in solar and wind generation and growth in EV charging. We plan to expand into other countries, helping them manage the transition to a low-carbon and cost-effective energy system,” said Daniel.
Related grid stories:
- MOIXA SEES £5M INVESTMENT FOR AI IN THE SMART GRID
- FOUR UK DEMONSTRATORS FOR ADVANCED RENEWABLE ENERGY TECH
- UK BATTERY MAKER STARTS VIRTUAL POWER PLANT TRIAL
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