Fermata Energy, a leading vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology services provider, announced today it has raised $40 million in investments to accelerate the company’s growth.
"When I set out to create a company that accelerated the adoption of EVs by making them more affordable, while at the same time fortifying the electric grid, I did not imagine how quickly this technology would take off, and how important our technology would prove to be, particularly in light of climate change," said founder and CEO, David Slutzky, "I could not be more pleased by the recent round of fundraising and projects we now have in operation. Each partner brings unique, strategic benefits, and we are thrilled to leverage those in the coming months.”
V2X technology enables electric vehicle (EV) integration with the continued growth in renewable energy into the electric power grid. Fermata Energy’s V2X technology provides essential energy storage to the power grid to facilitate the transition to renewables and provides revenue generation capabilities for vehicle and fleet owners.
To transition to a clean energy economy, abundant energy storage must be deployed quickly and at scale. Investment from our new partners, including funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) and Verizon Ventures, will allow Fermata Energy's next-generation bidirectional EV charger and accompanying proprietary software to be ready to dispatch power from stored energy in EV batteries directly back into the grid, building, or home. This functionality turns EVs into energy storage resources, and in the process, unlocks and monetizes the massive energy storage potential of EVs.
“Bidirectional charging technology will become essential as electric vehicles increasingly become a key component to global decarbonization,” said J.B. Oldenburg, a Managing Director specializing in renewables investing at Carlyle. “We are proud to partner with Fermata Energy to accelerate the deployment of its bidirectional offering and believe Carlyle’s broad network and expertise in business development will help jumpstart the company’s growth.”
In July 2021, as part of their participation in the 5G Studio, a collaboration between Verizon and Newlab, Fermata Energy's V2X energy management software successfully leveraged Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network to react to changes in the grid based on near real-time data and with near-zero latency. Through this partnership, Fermata Energy was connected to Verizon Ventures, the corporate strategic investment arm of Verizon that finds and funds the 5G future.
"Distributed energy use and storage continue to grow in importance, in part due to the fast-growing EV space,” said Kristina Serafim, Managing Director of Verizon Ventures. "Both 5G and mobile edge compute are integral to the future of managing and tracking distributed clean energy, so Verizon Ventures is excited to support Fermata Energy's incredible team and mission as they help accelerate the adoption of EVs and help to transform renewable energy on the grid."
Fermata Energy’s existing investors include Skyview Ventures, I Squared Capital, and ClearSky.
"Our partnership with, and investment in, Fermata Energy demonstrates our commitment to being a leader in mobility and vehicle-to-everything technology,” said Andy Karetsky, President, Skyview Ventures. “We look forward to working together to implement a network of vehicle-to-grid charging stations while optimizing grid functionality.”
"Fermata Energy's V2X technology has proven to save building owners money and add resilience to the grid," said Alex Weiss, Managing Partner at ClearSky "We are excited to be a part of Fermata Energy's growth at such a critical time for electric vehicles and charging infrastructure."
"I Squared Capital has deep expertise in this area, and a robust venture program to help innovative companies, like Fermata Energy, scale at such a critical time in the market," said Peter L. Corsell, InfraTech Fund Partner. "We are committed to accelerating demand for V2X technology as the model for EV adoption."
