Energy storage start-up terralayr raises CHF67 million

Established in 2022, terralayr is a developer, owner-operator and aggregator of battery storage assets in Germany, introducing an innovative approach to the market through its asset virtualization platform aggregating own as well as third party battery storage assets. Having identified a gap between the full economic value of battery storage and its conventional business model, terralayr offers “flexibility as a service” through its proprietary cloud-like software platform. Targeting players such as power producers, traders, grid operators and large power consumers such as data centers, terralayr offers flexibility services with durations from less than 15 minutes up to 15 years, allowing customers to gain all the benefits of grid-scale battery storage without the overhead of a physical asset. For grid-scale battery owners, this offers a new way to optimize capacity, generating higher and more stable returns.

This unique offering is backed by terralayr’s strong management team with long experience in the energy and renewables sector and has enabled terralayr to raise capital from renowned VC-funds to support its early stages – Creandum, Earlybird, Norrsken and Picus – all of which have invested again in this new fundraising round.

They were joined by RIVE Private Investment (RIVE), a European investment firm with over €850 million of assets under management in the energy and transportation sectors. RIVE is the first infrastructure investor in terralayr. In total, terralayr has raised a total of EUR62 million in equity and EUR15 million in debt in this round, as a company spokesperson confirmed to Startupticker.

Terralayr already secured development agreements for over 5GW both through an in-house greenfield development team and through partners, and has acquired a first asset in May 2023, trlyr1, operating since then. RIVE’s investment will accelerate the deployment of terralayr’s battery storage asset base.

Pierre du Passage, Partner in charge of energy transition at RIVE: “Battery storage stands out as a game-changer in mitigating the risks associated with renewable energy intermittency. With strong penetration of renewables leading to grid instability and negative prices, we had identified Germany as a strong candidate for the deployment of storage capacity. terralayr is ideally positioned in this market, combining its proven development capability and virtual aggregation expertise. We are proud to be a fast-mover in this field and look forward to collaborating with terralayr’s management team and fund their infrastructure roll-out.”

Philipp Man, Founder and CEO of terralayr: “In a net-zero world, energy storage is the key missing piece to drive the integration of all the renewable generation assets that are hitting the grid. Our positioning as a fully integrated storage aggregator enables us to unlock the fly-wheel from this future multi-trillion dollar asset class - delivering to customers such as data centers and utilities all the benefits of battery storage without the burden of the physical operation of assets. RIVE’s investment underscores our differentiated market positioning and will help us accelerate our roll out in Germany further.”

Philipp Man is no stranger to the start-up scene. In 2013, he co-founded Chronext, an online sales platform for vintage watches, which was also based in the canton of Zug. In 2023, a Swiss investment group acquired a majority stake in Chronext. At the same time, a new CEO took over. The new venture's head office is in Switzerland, but employees are spread across Europe, with a focus on the German market.

(Press release / SK)