Base Power Launches a 39.2 kWh Home Battery and Raises $1 Billion to Put It in More Houses

Summary

Austin-based Base Power launched Core, a 39.2 kWh home battery with up to 36 hours of backup power, and closed a $1 billion Series D at a $13 billion post-money valuation. The company has grown from 100 MWh of total deployed capacity last fall to over 500 MWh today, now installing roughly 100 units per day. Currently available in Texas and Illinois, with expansion to more states funded by this raise.

Why it matters

At 39.2 kWh, Core stores more than twice as much as a Tesla Powerwall 3. For homeowners in areas with frequent outages or steep electricity rates, that capacity means powering the whole house through a storm rather than just the essentials. The company’s deployment pace (100 installs per day) signals that this is no longer a niche product category.

HTD Says

Home battery storage just got a serious new competitor. Base Power’s Core unit holds 39 kWh, which is real whole-home backup territory, and they are installing 100 of these a day. If you have been waiting for an alternative to Powerwall that actually handles the whole house, this is one to watch.

I find the capacity to be impressive. Personally, I don’t have solar or a home battery (yet) as the price points across the board are out of our budget for now. I also believe that both solar panel and battery tech is evolving quickly. This story also points to competitors to Tesla entering the market, which hopefully can make consumer pricing more reasonable (maybe).

I find the biggest hurdle (particularly here in California) is the energy utility and how they allow inbound and outbound power access. It’s complicated when it comes to true-ups. Selling back to the utility is also almost a loss. And this is where storing in high-capacity, whole-home batteries could be extremely helpful.

Source:

TechCrunch