Seattle EV charging startup Electric Era is applying its battery expertise to energy storage systems for data centers.
The company on Thursday announced the CoPower Platform, which pairs large batteries with the software it developed to manage its EV charging stations. Those DC fast-charging systems already integrate batteries to deliver and store power, smoothing out grid demand — a dynamic that Electric Era says translates directly to data centers, where power needs are similarly unpredictable and volatile.
Tech companies are scrambling to find new energy sources to power their expanding data center footprints. The facilities consume enormous volumes of electricity and need power available around the clock to meet sudden surges in demand. Limited grid capacity and long interconnection timelines are already delaying some expansions.
“We’re enabling data center operators to say ‘yes’ to customers they’re turning away today, unlocking revenue growth that would otherwise take years to capture,” said Quincy Lee, CEO and co-founder of Electric Era.
The CoPower Platform uses batteries from LG Energy Solution and is available in 2.5-megawatt building blocks that can be combined to provide more than 100 megawatts of storage. Electric Era says it can install the systems in 12 to 18 months, compared to the five or more years typically required for traditional utility upgrades.
The systems are available through power purchase agreements in which Electric Era builds and operates the CoPower system, and the data center signs a long-term contract to buy the energy output at a set price.
Electric Era is working with McKinstry and other energy infrastructure firms on project design and development, and has a non-binding term sheet for potential financing with Macquarie Asset Management.
Other companies also offer data center energy storage systems, including Calibrant Energy, FlexGen, Schneider Electric, EnerSys and Saft.
Electric Era launched in 2019 and has raised $30 million from investors, along with $48 million in government grants to help customers purchase its EV charging stations. The company is No. 169 on the GeekWire 200, a ranked index of the Pacific Northwest’s top startups.
Most recently, it received $5.05 million through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program to install six charging stations along interstates and highways in Washington state. The company now operates 30 sites.
