Prelude Ventures

Prelude Ventures is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco, California, focusing on investments in ClimateTech. The firm aims to support innovative companies led by exceptional entrepreneurs and management teams that tackle significant market opportunities to reduce carbon intensity in the global economy. Prelude Ventures manages multiple funds, including Prelude Climate Fund II and Prelude Climate Opportunities Fund I, which target various sectors such as agriculture, energy production, environmental services, and alternative energy equipment. By concentrating on impact investments, the firm seeks to drive meaningful change in the climate sector across the United States and Canada.

Mark Cupta

Managing Director

Alexandra Harbour

Advisor

Gabriel Kra

Managing Director

Bryan Shill

Principal

Timothy A. Woodward

Managing Director

Past deals in Energy Storage

Form Energy

Series D in 2021
Form Energy, Inc. specializes in the development of long-duration energy storage systems aimed at replacing fossil fuel-based generation with renewable energy solutions. The company focuses on creating low-cost battery systems that can store energy from wind and solar sources for extended periods, enabling electricity supply from renewables to be more reliable and dispatchable throughout the year. Form Energy's technology, originally developed at MIT, enhances the electric grid's capacity without necessitating new transmission infrastructure and aims to diminish reliance on conventional thermal generation. Additionally, the company offers Formware, a software tool designed for capacity expansion with advanced optimization capabilities. Founded in 2017 and based in Somerville, Massachusetts, Form Energy is backed by notable investors, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures and MIT’s The Engine, and is driven by a team dedicated to overcoming complex technological challenges through innovation.

Encycle

Venture Round in 2021
REGEN Energy Inc. designs, develops, and markets wireless energy management solutions in Canada and the United States. The company’s products include EnviroGrid swarm-logic controllers, which are attached to electrical loads to communicate and coordinate with each other to reduce electrical demand for commercial, industrial, institutional, and multi-unit residential facilities. Its products are used to control electrical demand for heaters, fans, compressors, chillers, cold storage systems, batter chargers, pumps, and dehumidifiers and humidifiers, as well as for new construction, retrofit, and ongoing building operations.

Form Energy

Series C in 2020
Form Energy, Inc. specializes in the development of long-duration energy storage systems aimed at replacing fossil fuel-based generation with renewable energy solutions. The company focuses on creating low-cost battery systems that can store energy from wind and solar sources for extended periods, enabling electricity supply from renewables to be more reliable and dispatchable throughout the year. Form Energy's technology, originally developed at MIT, enhances the electric grid's capacity without necessitating new transmission infrastructure and aims to diminish reliance on conventional thermal generation. Additionally, the company offers Formware, a software tool designed for capacity expansion with advanced optimization capabilities. Founded in 2017 and based in Somerville, Massachusetts, Form Energy is backed by notable investors, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures and MIT’s The Engine, and is driven by a team dedicated to overcoming complex technological challenges through innovation.

Natron Energy

Series D in 2020
Natron Energy, Inc. is an energy storage company based in Santa Clara, California, specializing in the development of sodium ion battery technologies for industrial applications. Founded in 2012, the company designs batteries that feature high power, long cycle life, and affordability, utilizing a unique Prussian blue chemistry. Natron Energy's products are suitable for various stationary applications, including uninterruptible power supplies, lift trucks, renewable energy smoothing, smart grids, and regulatory compliance. Additionally, the company operates a software-defined power platform that enhances its energy storage solutions, making them adaptable for critical backup power systems and electric vehicle fast charging, among other uses. Previously known as Alveo Energy, Natron Energy rebranded in March 2017 to better reflect its focus on innovative energy storage solutions.

Form Energy

Series B in 2019
Form Energy, Inc. specializes in the development of long-duration energy storage systems aimed at replacing fossil fuel-based generation with renewable energy solutions. The company focuses on creating low-cost battery systems that can store energy from wind and solar sources for extended periods, enabling electricity supply from renewables to be more reliable and dispatchable throughout the year. Form Energy's technology, originally developed at MIT, enhances the electric grid's capacity without necessitating new transmission infrastructure and aims to diminish reliance on conventional thermal generation. Additionally, the company offers Formware, a software tool designed for capacity expansion with advanced optimization capabilities. Founded in 2017 and based in Somerville, Massachusetts, Form Energy is backed by notable investors, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures and MIT’s The Engine, and is driven by a team dedicated to overcoming complex technological challenges through innovation.

Encycle

Venture Round in 2016
REGEN Energy Inc. designs, develops, and markets wireless energy management solutions in Canada and the United States. The company’s products include EnviroGrid swarm-logic controllers, which are attached to electrical loads to communicate and coordinate with each other to reduce electrical demand for commercial, industrial, institutional, and multi-unit residential facilities. Its products are used to control electrical demand for heaters, fans, compressors, chillers, cold storage systems, batter chargers, pumps, and dehumidifiers and humidifiers, as well as for new construction, retrofit, and ongoing building operations.

QuantumScape

Venture Round in 2015
QuantumScape is a renewable energy company focused on advancing solid-state battery technology to enhance the performance and range of electric vehicles. Founded in 2010 by Jagdeep Singh in San Jose, California, the company aims to transform the battery industry by creating a solid-state battery that offers significantly higher energy storage capacity compared to traditional batteries. QuantumScape is developing next-generation solid-state lithium-metal batteries, featuring an innovative anode-less cell design that improves energy density while reducing material costs and streamlining manufacturing processes. Through these advancements, QuantumScape seeks to facilitate the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

Aquion Energy

Series E in 2014
Aquion Energy is fundamentally­­ changing the economics of power generation, transmission and distribution by developing and commercializing cost-effective energy storage solutions that are safe, reliable, and sustainable from nontoxic components as simple as saltwater. Based on the research of Carnegie Mellon University Professor Jay Whitacre, Aquion's proprietary Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHI™) battery overcomes the pitfalls of conventional energy storage technologies. AHI systems enhance the electrical grid by providing flexible, emissions-free capacity that optimizes existing generation assets and enables broad adoption of renewable energy technologies.