COMPANY PROFILE / NEXT-GEN ENERGY STORAGE
Form Energy
A privately held U.S. company building iron-air batteries meant to discharge for up to 100 hours: from a first commercial pilot to contracts measured in tens of gigawatt-hours
Form Energy comes up in any discussion of next-generation storage because it is trying to turn a new battery type, iron-air, into a product that stores electricity for days rather than the few hours lithium-ion batteries are usually built for. According to the company's announcements, in 2025 it deployed the first system of a 1.5 MW / 150 MWh commercial pilot with Great River Energy, a Minnesota electric cooperative, and in August 2026 it closed a US$750 million Series G, bringing the equity it has raised to more than US$2 billion. The company describes about 800 MW / 80 GWh of projects under agreement, but the only commercial system the company has said it has delivered or deployed is the 1.5 MW / 150 MWh pilot, and it says the full project is expected to come online in 2026. This profile sets out what the company has put in, what has progressed and what cannot be confirmed, drawing on the company's announcements, public-agency materials and patents. It is not an assessment of the technology or the company.
What this article covers
- Form Energy in 30 seconds, and where it stands in next-generation storage
- The logo and how the name is written
- Where the company sits in the field
- Scale
- Resources committed to next-generation storage
- What it has done so far
- What comes next
- What the company is aiming for in next-generation storage
- Map of partnerships in next-generation storage
- Technologies, products and services
- The risks this company carries
- Glossary, references and claim-to-source audit
1. Form Energy in 30 seconds, and where it stands in next-generation storage
LEGAL NAMEForm Energy, Inc.A private U.S. company, founded in 2017 by five co-founders (company history)
HEADQUARTERS AND SITESSomerville,
Massachusetts, U.S.Manufacturing in Weirton, West Virginia; also a site in Berkeley, California
Massachusetts, U.S.Manufacturing in Weirton, West Virginia; also a site in Berkeley, California
LISTINGPrivateFinancial statements are not published; funding figures come from the company's announcements
CATEGORY IN THIS FIELDLong-duration & new chemistries (primary)No secondary category; it also supplies storage systems under its own name
CORE BATTERYIron-air batteryThe company describes a grid system that can discharge for up to 100 hours
EQUITY RAISED (CUMULATIVE)More than US$2 billionIncludes the US$750 million Series G of August 2026; company announcement
PROJECTS UNDER AGREEMENTAbout 800 MW / 80 GWhCompany statement (2026); the full breakdown is not disclosed
EMPLOYEESMore than 1,000Company statement (2026); more than 500 at the factory alone
The one thing to grasp first
Form Energy aims to cover multi-day storage with a battery made of cheap materials, iron, water and air Sourced. According to the company, it deployed the first system of its commercial pilot (Great River Energy, 1.5 MW / 150 MWh) in 2025 (it also describes grid-connected test systems in California), and in 2026 it announced much larger projects in quick succession: 300 MW / 30 GWh for Xcel Energy and a Google data center, 85 MW / 8,500 MWh in Maine selected by the DOE, a 12 GWh supply framework with Crusoe, and 10 MW / 1,000 MWh in Ireland. On the other hand, no published figures for round-trip efficiency, energy density, lifetime or price per kilowatt-hour turned up in the official materials reviewed. Most of the large projects are at the planning, contract or selection stage; the only commercial system the company has said it delivered or deployed is the 1.5 MW / 150 MWh pilot Sourced. This profile keeps that gap between large plans and published results visible, in the words of the company's own materials.
2. The logo and how the name is written
A note on names: the legal entity is Form Energy, Inc., usually shortened to "Form Energy". The logo is the words "Form" and "energy" in black inside a yellow frame. The battery type is the iron-air battery, sold as a grid-scale storage system. The factory in Weirton, West Virginia, is called Form Factory 1, and its grid-modeling software is called Formware (all company names). The logo image was taken from the one served by the company's official website (formenergy.com).
Official site: https://formenergy.com/3. Where the company sits in the field
Form Energy falls under the "long-duration & new chemistries" type. It is not a company that mass-produces lithium-ion cells for sale; the position it occupies is a new battery type specialized for multi-day discharge, made in its own factory and delivered to utilities and data-center companies as grid systems Sourced. The strengths one would expect in this type are the "cheap, abundant materials" and "100-hour discharge" the company describes, and the weakness one would expect is "limited scale and track record" Our calculation (the categories and the axes of assessment are our own framing, not the company's self-assessment). Other companies of the same type include Eos Energy Enterprises (zinc-based), ESS Tech (iron flow) and Invinity Energy Systems (vanadium redox flow); see the other company profiles in this series.
4. Scale
Form Energy is private and does not publish financial statements such as revenue, profit or assets (nothing in the official materials reviewed). The figures below are those in the company's own announcements Sourced.
| Item | Detail | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2017. The five co-founders are Mateo Jaramillo (CEO), Ted Wiley, William (Billy) Woodford (CTO), Yet-Ming Chiang (CSO) and Marco Ferrara. R&D began with initial funding and lab space from The Engine, an MIT-linked investment and support organization | Company history page (2026) |
| Employees | More than 1,000 (sites in West Virginia, Massachusetts and California), with more than 500 at the Weirton factory alone. An October 2024 announcement gave more than 900 in total and 300 at the factory | Company website (2026); October 2024 announcement |
| Revenue and profit | Not disclosed (could not be confirmed) | - |
| Cumulative equity raised | More than US$2 billion (the company's wording). Round-by-round amounts are in the next table | Announcement of 12 August 2026 |
| Debt financing | On 21 September 2026 the company closed a US$270 million credit facility, made up of a revolving credit facility and a tax credit advance facility that can advance against credits generated by producing eligible components under Section 45X (the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit). The latter has an accordion feature allowing up to US$1 billion in total | Announcement of 21 September 2026 |
| Projects under agreement | About 800 MW / 80 GWh (company statement, 2026). The wording shifts over time: "more than 65 GWh" on 17 March 2026, "more than 75 GWh" on 24 March, and the company says the total rose from about 20 GWh to 80 GWh during 2026 alone | Company history; announcements of March and August 2026 |
| Equity round | When | Amount (company announcement) | Lead investor (company announcement) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series A | 2018 | US$9 million | Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures, The Engine |
| Series B | 2019 | US$40 million | Eni Next |
| Series C | 2020 | US$76 million | Coatue Management |
| Series D | 2021 | US$240 million (the July 2021 announcement said US$200 million) | ArcelorMittal's XCarb innovation fund |
| Series E | 2022 | US$450 million | TPG Rise |
| Series F | October 2024 | US$405 million (GE Vernova took part and signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic collaboration) | T. Rowe Price |
| Series G | August 2026 | US$750 million | T. Rowe Price; new investors include Sequoia Capital, Janus Henderson, Franklin Templeton and PEAK6 |
The seven rounds add up to about US$1.97 billion, a little short of the "more than US$2 billion" the company states Our calculation. The materials reviewed do not say what accounts for the difference (seed funding, for example).
A caution
The amounts raised are funds the company has announced, not a measure of profitability or financial health. Because the company is private, its income, cash balance and total debt cannot be confirmed. This profile makes no assessment of the company's financial condition.
5. Resources committed to next-generation storage
Form Energy does nothing but iron-air batteries, so the company's resources go almost entirely to next-generation storage. However, R&D spending, capital expenditure and headcount by function are not published.
| Type of resource | What primary sources confirm | Status |
|---|---|---|
| People | More than 1,000 employees (2026): manufacturing in West Virginia, the Somerville R&D site and headquarters in Massachusetts, and a development site in Berkeley, California. The company history says a pilot manufacturing site was added in Eighty-Four, Pennsylvania in 2021; its current status could not be confirmed. A Chief Financial Officer (Navneet Govil) and Chief Operating Officer (Wes Sloan) joined in August 2026. R&D headcount alone is not disclosed | Sourced / partly undisclosed |
| Money (R&D and facilities) | R&D spending and total capital expenditure are not disclosed. The company says the Series G proceeds will go to "manufacturing scale-up and commercial deployments". DOE manufacturing support is in the row below | Sourced / undisclosed |
| Acquisitions, investments, joint ventures and divestments | (1) NantEnergy, a zinc-air battery company, acquired in 2020; the company history says this brought in air-cathode technology (the electrode that takes in air). (2) ArcelorMittal: joint development of the iron material for the batteries, which ArcelorMittal intended to supply on a non-exclusive basis; it was also the lead investor in the 2021 Series D. (3) GE Vernova: took part in the 2024 Series F and signed a memorandum of understanding on manufacturing and engineering collaboration. (4) No divestment or exit was found | Sourced |
| Universities, research institutes and public funding | MIT: initial funding and lab space came through The Engine at the start; co-founder Yet-Ming Chiang is Chief Science Officer. DOE: selected for award negotiation of up to US$150 million in manufacturing support (20 September 2024); the final award could not be confirmed. Under the DOE's Grid Innovation Program (GRIP), an 85 MW / 8,500 MWh project in Maine was selected, and the State of Maine announced a US$147 million grant (6 August 2024). NYSERDA (New York): a US$12 million grant (August 2023). West Virginia: support for the factory (the amount could not be confirmed) | Sourced / partly not confirmed |
| Investments in start-ups | No investment by the company in other firms was found | Not confirmed |
Next come the manufacturing facilities and main projects. Stages are in the wording of the company or public agency, and plans and targets are Not yet confirmed.
| Manufacturing facility | Location | Size (company statements) | Stage | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Form Factory 1 | Weirton, West Virginia, U.S. (the former Weirton Steel site, about 55 acres) | In September 2024 the CEO cited 520,000 square feet; DOE-related and Series F announcements of September-October 2024 said 550,000 square feet. The 2026 official page says "about one million square feet" and an expansion to about 850,000 square feet by 2028. The floor-area figures do not agree across documents | Operating (trial production in 2024; a 2026 announcement describes commercial production as launched) | 12 September and 14 October 2024; 2026 | Reference 3, 21, 24 |
| Same site: production capacity | Same | At least 500 MW a year by 2028 (company target). The DOE-related announcement describes a new line with up to 20 GWh a year by 2027 (company plan) | Target (Not yet confirmed) | 20 September and 14 October 2024; 2026 | Reference 3, 8, 21 |
| Somerville (R&D) and Berkeley (engineering) | Massachusetts and California, U.S. | Size could not be confirmed | Operating | Established 2018 and 2020 | Reference 1 |
| Project | Location | Size | Stage (in the announcements' wording) | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great River Energy, Cambridge Energy Storage Project | Minnesota, U.S. | 1.5 MW / 150 MWh | Groundbreaking in August 2024. The company says it deployed the first commercial-demonstration system in 2025. The March 2026 announcement says the full project is expected online in 2026 (the August 2024 announcement said "by late 2025") | 15 August 2024; March 2026 | Reference 1, 6, 11 |
| Xcel Energy / Google, Pine Island data center | Minnesota, U.S. | 300 MW / 30 GWh (100 hours) | Announced by Xcel Energy on 24 February 2026. Xcel says the electric service agreement needs approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC). The outcome could not be confirmed | 24 February 2026 | Reference 10 |
| Power Up New England (DOE GRIP) | Lincoln, Maine, U.S. | 85 MW / 8,500 MWh | Selected by the DOE (6 August 2024). The company says it would be the battery with the most energy capacity announced in the world. Construction and operating dates could not be confirmed | 6 August 2024 | Reference 12, 13 |
| Crusoe (AI data centers) | U.S. (sites not disclosed) | 12 GWh | A "strategic capacity agreement": both companies say Crusoe has reserved volume, pricing and delivery terms. Deliveries expected to start in 2027 | 24 March 2026 | Reference 6 |
| FuturEnergy Ireland | Northwest Ireland | 10 MW / 1,000 MWh | Agreement signed (17 March 2026). Expected online in 2029 (company). The company's first international project | 17 March 2026 | Reference 7 |
| Xcel Energy (Sherco in Minnesota; Comanche in Colorado) | U.S. | 10 MW / 1,000 MWh each | Definitive agreements in January 2023. The Minnesota unit received state approval in July 2023. Both were stated at the time as "online as early as 2025". Current status could not be confirmed | January and July 2023 | Reference 17, 18 |
| Georgia Power | Georgia, U.S. | 15 MW / 1,500 MWh | June 2023: "continuing under a definitive agreement", "as early as 2026, subject to regulatory approvals". Current status could not be confirmed | 12 June 2023 | Reference 15 |
| NYSERDA (grant) | New York, U.S. | 10 MW / 1,000 MWh | Described in 2023 as "expected online by 2026". Current status could not be confirmed | 17 August 2023 | Reference 16 |
| Dominion Energy, Darbytown | Virginia, U.S. | Size could not be confirmed | Proposed to the state commission in September 2023 (to be tested alongside Eos Energy Enterprises' zinc-based batteries); operation was then expected in late 2026. Approval and current status could not be confirmed | 19 September 2023 | Reference 19 |
Adding up the energy of the projects in the table whose size was published (Xcel/Google 30 GWh, Crusoe 12 GWh, Maine 8.5 GWh, Ireland 1 GWh, Great River Energy 0.15 GWh, the two Xcel units 2 GWh, Georgia Power 1.5 GWh, NYSERDA 1 GWh) gives about 56 GWh Our calculation. The materials reviewed do not give the rest of the "about 80 GWh" (and the sum includes older projects whose current status could not be confirmed).
A materials engineer's view: using iron as an electrode, rusted and un-rusted again and again
As the company describes it, an iron-air battery runs on "reversible rusting": on discharge it takes in oxygen from the air and turns iron into rust (oxide); on charge, an electric current turns the rust back into iron Sourced (company's technology page). Each cell has an iron electrode, an air electrode and a water-based, non-flammable electrolyte, which the company likens to "the electrolyte used in AA batteries". The composition of the electrolyte could not be confirmed. On the materials side, two things matter: (1) how the iron electrode is made. The abstract of the company's U.S. patent (US 12,362,352 B2, granted 15 July 2025) describes electrodes using pellets of direct reduced iron (DRI, an intermediate material from ironmaking), with 60% to 90% iron and 1% to 40% of one or more of SiO2, Al2O3, MgO, CaO and TiO2 (this is what the patent says, and not necessarily the composition of any product). A second patent (US 12,294,086 B2) covers "low cost metal electrodes". (2) The air electrode: the company says it brought in the zinc-air battery technology of NantEnergy, acquired in 2020. It is generally said that an air electrode that cycles oxygen in and out is prone to degradation of its catalyst and porous structure Not yet confirmed (a general statement, not a description of Form Energy's design), and no published lifetime or round-trip efficiency figures were found. See also our explainer on long-duration storage (iron-air and zinc-based).
6. What it has done so far
| When | What happened | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Founded by five co-founders. R&D started with initial funding and lab space from MIT's The Engine | Per the company history |
| 2018 | First R&D site in Somerville, Massachusetts. Built prototypes, and after market analysis and technology evaluation chose a 100-hour iron-air battery as its first product. Series A (US$9 million) | The year the product direction was set |
| 2019 | Tested more than 35 sub-scale cells. The company says it confirmed that iron-air chemistry could meet the performance and duration requirements for multi-day storage. Series B (US$40 million) | The company's own account; independent verification could not be confirmed |
| 2020 | Acquired NantEnergy (zinc-air batteries) to bring in air-cathode technology. Built its first full-height cell. Released Formware, its grid-modeling software. Agreed its first pilot project with Great River Energy (1.5 MW). Opened a Berkeley site. Series C (US$76 million) | The year it gained an air-cathode technology and a first customer |
| 2021 | Built and tested a full-scale cell stack and a first module. Added a pilot manufacturing site in Eighty-Four, Pennsylvania. In July disclosed the battery chemistry (iron-air), with Series D led by ArcelorMittal | Manufacturing-process development began |
| 2022 | Developed manufacturing processes for electrodes, cells and modules. Testing reached more than 7,700 sub-scale cells, 52 full-scale cells and two modules. Agreed a 15 MW project with Georgia Power. In December chose Weirton for its first high-volume factory (the company says it reviewed more than 500 sites). Series E (US$450 million) | Factory location decided |
| 2023 | January: two projects with Xcel Energy (10 MW / 1,000 MWh each). 26 May: groundbreaking for Form Factory 1. The company says it put its first grid-connected iron-air system into field testing in California. August: NYSERDA grant. September: Dominion Energy proposal | Customers and factory both got moving |
| 2024 | 6 August: DOE GRIP selection for the Maine project. 15 August: Great River Energy project breaks ground. 12 September: event marking completion of Form Factory 1 and the start of trial production. 20 September: DOE selects the company for award negotiation of up to US$150 million. October: Series F (US$405 million) and start of factory expansion. December: announces completion of UL 9540A (cell-level) testing | Milestones in manufacturing and safety testing |
| 2025 | Added enclosures to the grid-connected test system in Berkeley. Deployed the first system of the commercial pilot with Great River Energy. Patents US 12,294,086 B2 (6 May) and US 12,362,352 B2 (15 July) granted | Start of commercial demonstration (company account) |
| 2026 | 24 February: Xcel Energy / Google, 300 MW / 30 GWh. 17 March: FuturEnergy Ireland (first international project); 24 March: Crusoe (12 GWh). 12 August: Series G (US$750 million), new CFO and COO. 9 September: technician hiring drive in Weirton. 21 September: US$270 million credit facility | A year of large contracts and financing |
| 2026 (history page) | The company says it has completed testing of more than 34,700 sub-scale cells, 6,200 full-scale cells (including cells tested in modules), 170 modules and more than 10 grid-connected packs, demonstrating continuous 100-hour duration and other key performance metrics needed for a 24/7 grid | The company's own account; individual measurements and conditions could not be confirmed |
7. What comes next
GREAT RIVER ENERGYFull project online in 2026Company expectation (March 2026); "late 2025" in August 2024
CRUSOEDeliveries from 202712 GWh capacity agreement; sites not disclosed
FORM FACTORY 1At least 500 MW a year by 2028Company target; plans for at least 750 employees
IRELANDOnline in 202910 MW / 1,000 MWh; company expectation
These figures are company targets and expectations, not results Not yet confirmed. The official materials also contain the following plans.
- Xcel Energy / Google 300 MW / 30 GWh: the electric service agreement needs approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC), according to Xcel Energy. The outcome could not be confirmed
- Maine 85 MW / 8,500 MWh: selected under the DOE's GRIP. Construction and operating dates could not be confirmed
- Manufacturing: a new line with up to 20 GWh a year by 2027 (as described in the DOE award-negotiation announcement). The company says it is building two electrode lines (anode and cathode) and a cell assembly line in Weirton
- The Xcel Energy (two units), Georgia Power, NYSERDA and Dominion Energy projects: the target dates given in the 2023 announcements have passed, and current plans could not be confirmed
- Iron supply: the October 2024 Series F announcement says the company is working on a more efficient and scalable process for low-cost green iron. No specific plan could be confirmed
What could not be confirmed
Round-trip efficiency, energy density, cycle life and price per kilowatt-hour; the electrolyte composition; operating data for the Great River Energy system (such as actual discharge performance); the final award of up to US$150 million from the DOE; the outcome of the MPUC approval for Xcel Energy; the construction start for the Maine project; current plans for Georgia Power, the two Xcel Energy units, NYSERDA and Dominion; the full breakdown of the "about 80 GWh"; revenue and profit. None of this appears in the official materials reviewed.
8. What the company is aiming for in next-generation storage
We separate what the company says directly from what we read into it. Inference marks an interpretation of ours drawn from primary information.
| What we read from it | Primary information behind it | Status |
|---|---|---|
| The aim is to make multi-day storage a standard grid product | The company's technology page states that its first commercial product is an iron-air battery that discharges for up to 100 hours, and lists applications such as "resilience during multi-day grid stress events", "reliable, clean firm power over any weather event or season" and "balancing electricity supply with demand, including from data centers and other industrial loads" | Sourced (company statement) |
| The customer base is widening from utilities toward data-center-related demand | The large 2026 projects are Xcel Energy's 30 GWh to serve a Google data center and 12 GWh for the AI data-center company Crusoe. The 2023 projects were mostly with utilities (Xcel, Georgia Power, Dominion) | Sourced / Inference (a trend) |
| The top priority for now appears to be starting up manufacturing | The Series G announcement names manufacturing scale-up in Weirton as the use of proceeds, and the US$270 million credit facility is for manufacturing scale-up and working capital. The new COO previously oversaw production at a large battery maker's U.S. plant, and the company is stepping up technician hiring in Weirton | Sourced / Inference (priority) |
| It looks to secure materials through a link to ironmaking | ArcelorMittal led the 2021 round and announced joint development of iron materials. The patent abstract describes using DRI, an ironmaking intermediate, in electrodes. The 2024 Series F announcement mentions developing a low-cost green iron process | Sourced / Inference |
The basis for one inference, in more detail
The reading that "the customer base is widening toward data-center-related demand" rests on who is in the large projects announced in 2026. Xcel Energy lists a 300 MW / 30 GWh Form Energy iron-air battery as part of the power supply for Google's data center in Pine Island, Minnesota Sourced. Crusoe is an AI infrastructure company, and the two companies agreed a 12 GWh capacity agreement in line with the idea of securing power alongside computing capacity Sourced. These two alone account for most of the portion of the company's "about 80 GWh" under agreement whose size is known (30 GWh plus 12 GWh is 42 GWh, about 53% of 80 GWh) Our calculation. However, both are still to be built, and the Xcel Energy / Google agreement needs MPUC approval. We therefore read this as "demand from data centers is starting to account for a large part of the company's outlook" Not yet confirmed. This is our interpretation, not a policy the company has stated.
9. Map of partnerships in next-generation storage
What stands out in Form Energy's partnerships is that the deployment projects with utilities and public bodies (left) and the relationships with investors, governments and materials (right) each involve several parties Sourced. On the right, ArcelorMittal is both an investor and a partner in joint development of iron material, and GE Vernova is both an investor and a counterparty to a memorandum of understanding on manufacturing and engineering collaboration. On the other hand, within what we reviewed, the suppliers of cell components (electrolyte, air-electrode catalysts, separators and so on) are not disclosed, and we do not speculate on this.
10. Technologies, products and services
Products are described within what the company's official pages say. Because published figures for round-trip efficiency, energy density, lifetime and price could not be confirmed, this profile gives no performance values and makes no comparison with other batteries.
| Area | What the company's official materials say | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Iron-air battery system | A front-of-the-meter grid system aiming to discharge for up to 100 hours. Cells are stacked into modules, modules sit in container-sized, environmentally protected enclosures, and hundreds of enclosures form a megawatt-scale power block. In its least dense configuration a 1 MW system takes about half an acre; higher-density configurations would exceed 3 MW per acre (company statements) | No product specification sheet (datasheet) could be confirmed. Values are the company's statements |
| Safety testing | In December 2024 the company announced it completed UL 9540A (cell-level) testing, with "no flame or thermal event propagation". It says that under conditions such as short circuits, charging while short-circuited and seven continuous days of overcharge, there was no uncontrolled heating, thermal runaway, dendrite formation or fire. The announcement quotes a technical advisor at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) as saying that chemistries showing no thermal runaway at cell level remove the need for module- or system-level testing | The test report and certificate could not be confirmed. The results are the company's announcement. Actual installation approvals follow local fire codes and standards |
| Materials and sourcing | Iron, water and air as the main materials; no heavy or rare-earth metals (2024 statement). The company says about 80% of components are sourced in the United States | Beyond the joint development with ArcelorMittal, the sources of the iron material could not be confirmed |
| Manufacturing | Form Factory 1 is building two electrode lines (anode and cathode) and a cell assembly line. Equipment the company lists includes hydraulic presses, furnaces, lamination, coating lines, automated guided vehicles, welding and robotics | The list suggests that furnaces, coating and pressing are used in electrode manufacture |
| Formware (grid-modeling software) | A technology-neutral model that optimizes investment and operations over multi-year, hourly data. The company says it was used in studies with Xcel Energy and Georgia Power | A planning tool for customers, separate from battery sales |
| Advantage the company lists (official page) | The company's wording | Our note |
|---|---|---|
| Low cost | Stores energy at "a fraction of the cost" of lithium-ion. The 2021 and 2023 announcements said "less than 1/10th" (the current page says "a fraction") | The definition of cost (whole system or per kWh) and the basis of the calculation could not be confirmed |
| Safe | No mechanism for thermal runaway; no heavy metals | The company's statement; UL 9540A (cell-level) results are in the row above |
| Long duration | Delivers the 100+ hours needed | Publication of operating data could not be confirmed |
| Siting flexibility | Does not depend on specific geology; can be sited anywhere, including urban areas | Actual siting depends on land, fire and grid-interconnection approvals |
11. The risks this company carries
| Risk | Detail | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Limited track record | The only commercial system the company has said it delivered or deployed is the 1.5 MW / 150 MWh Great River Energy pilot. The 30 GWh, 8.5 GWh and 12 GWh projects are at the planning, contract or selection stage, so there is a large gap in scale between results and plans. The expected online date for the full pilot has itself moved, from "late 2025" (August 2024) to "2026" (March 2026) | Sourced |
| Outside verification of performance | No published figures for round-trip efficiency, lifetime, energy density or cost, and no operating data for 100-hour discharge could be confirmed, so performance and cost are hard to check from outside. The UL 9540A (cell-level) result and the test counts are the company's announcements | Not yet confirmed |
| Manufacturing ramp-up | Factory capacity is a target (at least 500 MW a year by 2028; up to 20 GWh a year from a new line by 2027, and so on), and actual shipment volumes could not be confirmed. The roughly 800 MW under agreement is about 1.6 years of the 500 MW a year target Our calculation, but capacity is expressed in MW in some documents and GWh in others, so they cannot simply be compared | Sourced / Not yet confirmed |
| Concentration and approvals | Of the roughly 80 GWh, the Xcel Energy / Google 30 GWh is about 38% (our calculation). That agreement needs MPUC approval, and the outcome could not be confirmed | Sourced / Our calculation |
| Dependence on public support | The DOE factory support (up to US$150 million) is at the "selected for award negotiation" stage, and a final award could not be confirmed. The Maine project is a DOE GRIP selection. The credit facility includes a mechanism that advances against Section 45X tax credits (we have not checked the current state of that law against the legal text) | Sourced / Not yet confirmed |
| Undisclosed finances | As a private company, its income, cash and total debt cannot be confirmed. The amounts raised are large, but financial health cannot be assessed | Sourced |
| Opacity on older projects | For the Xcel Energy (two units), Georgia Power, NYSERDA and Dominion projects announced in 2023, the expected dates at the time have passed, and no current public update could be confirmed | Sourced |
| Competing approaches | Other chemistries, such as zinc-based and flow batteries, compete in long-duration storage (see the other company profiles in this series). This profile does not rank them | Not yet confirmed |
This profile summarizes a company and is not advice on the design, installation or safety of batteries or storage facilities. Installing and operating storage equipment is subject to national and local laws, standards and operators' safety rules.
12. Glossary
- Iron-air battery
- A battery with iron as the negative electrode and oxygen from air as the positive reactant. Discharge oxidizes (rusts) the iron; charging turns it back to iron.
- Long-duration energy storage (LDES)
- Storage that discharges for longer than a few hours, from about 10 hours to several days. Form Energy aims for up to 100 hours.
- MW / MWh / GWh
- MW is power; MWh and GWh are the energy that can be stored. 300 MW / 30 GWh is a combination that can discharge at full power for 100 hours.
- UL 9540A
- A test method for evaluating whether thermal runaway in an energy storage system spreads to its surroundings, carried out at levels such as cell, module and system.
- Direct reduced iron (DRI)
- An intermediate iron material made by reducing iron ore without melting it. The abstract of one Form Energy patent lists it as an electrode material.
- GRIP
- The U.S. DOE's Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program. Form Energy's Maine project was selected under it.
- Section 45X
- The U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit. The credit facility includes a tranche that advances against tax credits generated under it (company announcement).
- MPUC
- The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, which has authority to approve the electric service agreement between Xcel Energy and Google.
- Formware
- Form Energy's grid-modeling software, used for customers' investment and operations planning.
- Front-of-the-meter
- Storage installed on the utility or grid side of the electricity meter.
13. References
- Form Energy Official website, About page (company history 'Our Progress', leadership, locations, headcount). Milestones, test counts, financing and projects, 2017-2026. https://formenergy.com/about/
- Form Energy Official website, Battery Technology page. Principle of operation, module structure, claimed advantages. https://formenergy.com/technology/battery-technology/
- Form Energy Official website, Form Factory 1 page. Weirton factory size, headcount, 2028 target, equipment sought. https://formenergy.com/form-factory-1/
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy Secures $750M in Series G Financing' (12 August 2026). Series G, investors, CFO and COO. https://formenergy.com/form-energy-secures-750m-in-series-g-financing/
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy Announces Closing of $270M Credit Facility' (21 September 2026). https://formenergy.com/form-energy-announces-closing-of-270m-credit-facility/
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy & Crusoe Announce Agreement for 12 Gigawatt-Hours of Iron-Air Batteries for AI Data Centers' (24 March 2026). https://formenergy.com/form-energy-crusoe-announce-agreement-for-12-gigawatt-hours-of-iron-air-batteries-for-ai-data-centers/
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy and FuturEnergy Ireland Announce Agreement To Deploy First Iron-Air Battery Storage Project In Ireland' (17 March 2026). https://formenergy.com/form-energy-and-futurenergy-ireland-announce-agreement-to-deploy-first-iron-air-battery-storage-project-in-ireland/
- Form Energy Press release 'Department of Energy Selects Form Energy for $150M to Build Out West Virginia Battery Factory' (20 September 2024). Project RAPID, up to US$150 million in award negotiation, new line of up to 20 GWh a year. https://formenergy.com/department-of-energy-selects-form-energy-for-150-award-for-the-buildout-of-west-virginia-battery-factory/
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy's Breakthrough Iron-Air Battery Technology Sets a New Benchmark for Safety in Energy Storage Systems' (12 December 2024). UL 9540A cell-level testing. https://formenergy.com/form-energys-breakthrough-iron-air-battery-technology-sets-a-new-benchmark-for-safety-in-energy-storage-systems/
- Xcel Energy News release 'Xcel Energy to power new Google data center in Minnesota' (24 February 2026). 300 MW / 30 GWh iron-air battery; MPUC approval required. https://newsroom.xcelenergy.com/news/xcel-energy-to-power-new-google-data-center-in-minnesota
- Form Energy / Great River Energy Press release 'Great River Energy and Form Energy break ground on first-of-its-kind multi-day energy storage project' (15 August 2024). Cambridge Energy Storage Project, 1.5 MW / 150 MWh. https://formenergy.com/great-river-energy-and-form-energy-break-ground-on-first-of-its-kind-multi-day-energy-storage-project/
- Form Energy / Commonwealth of Massachusetts 'Massachusetts, New England States Selected to Receive $389 Million in Federal Funding...' (6 August 2024; the Massachusetts governor's office release as posted by Form Energy). Power Up New England; Maine 85 MW / 8,500 MWh. https://formenergy.com/massachusetts-new-england-states-selected-to-receive-389-million-in-federal-funding-for-transformational-transmission-and-energy-storage-infrastructure/
- State of Maine State of Maine, Governor's office release (6 August 2024). DOE grant of US$147 million; 85 MW storage project in Lincoln. https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/news/governor-mills-senators-collins-king-and-congresswoman-pingree-announce-nearly-150-million
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy Secures $405M in Series F Financing' (9 October 2024). Series F, GE Vernova memorandum, headcount, 2028 target. https://formenergy.com/form-energy-secures-405m-in-series-f-financing-to-expand-iron-air-battery-business-and-operations/
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy, Georgia Power Continue Forward With 15 Megawatt Iron-Air Battery System Agreement' (12 June 2023). https://formenergy.com/form-energy-georgia-power-continue-forward-with-15-megawatt-iron-air-battery-system-agreement/
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy awarded grant to deploy first multi-day battery system in New York' (17 August 2023). NYSERDA grant of US$12 million. https://formenergy.com/form-energy-awarded-grant-to-deploy-first-multi-day-battery-system-in-new-york/
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy Partners with Xcel Energy on Two Multi-day Energy Storage Projects' (26 January 2023). https://formenergy.com/form-energy-partners-with-xcel-energy-on-two-multi-day-energy-storage-projects/
- Form Energy / Xcel Energy Press release 'Xcel Energy receives approval to build multi-day battery storage at Sherco site' (6 July 2023). https://formenergy.com/xcel-energy-receives-approval-to-build-multi-day-battery-storage-at-sherco-site/
- Form Energy / Dominion Energy Press release 'Dominion Energy explores pioneering battery storage technologies in Virginia' (19 September 2023). Darbytown Storage Pilot Project. https://formenergy.com/dominion-energy-explores-pioneering-battery-storage-technologies-in-virginia/
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy Unveils Chemistry of Multi-day Storage Battery Technology' (22 July 2021). Disclosure of iron-air chemistry, Series D, ArcelorMittal. https://formenergy.com/form-energy-unveils-chemistry-of-multi-day-storage-battery-technology/
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy Begins Expansion of Form Factory 1 to Increase Manufacturing Capacity' (14 October 2024). https://formenergy.com/form-energy-begins-expansion-of-form-factory-1-to-increase-manufacturing-capacity/
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (via Google Patents) U.S. Patent US 12,362,352 B2, 'Negative electrodes for electrochemical cells' (filed 3 January 2023; granted 15 July 2025; assignee Form Energy Inc), as published on Google Patents. https://patents.google.com/patent/US12362352
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (via Google Patents) U.S. Patent US 12,294,086 B2, 'Low cost metal electrodes' (filed 24 July 2020; granted 6 May 2025; assignee Form Energy Inc), as published on Google Patents. https://patents.google.com/patent/US12294086
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy Hosts West Virginia Appreciation Event, Marking Official Opening of Form Factory 1' (12 September 2024). https://formenergy.com/form-energy-hosts-west-virginia-appreciation-event-marking-official-opening-of-form-factory-1/
- Form Energy Official website home page (source of the logo image; company overview; Form Factory 1 headcount; latest press releases). https://formenergy.com/
- Form Energy Official website, Grid Modeling Software page. Description of Formware. https://formenergy.com/technology/grid-modeling-software/
- Form Energy Press release 'Form Energy Launches Technician Hiring Sprint In Weirton, WV' (9 September 2026). https://formenergy.com/form-energy-launches-technician-hiring-sprint-in-weirton-wv/
14. Claim-to-source audit
| Claim in the text | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Legal name, founding (2017), founders, initial funding from MIT's The Engine, sites (Somerville, Berkeley, Weirton) | Sourced | Reference 1 https://formenergy.com/about/ Reference 25 https://formenergy.com/ |
| More than 1,000 employees and more than 500 at the factory (2026); more than 900 in total and 300 at the factory in October 2024 | Sourced | Reference 1 https://formenergy.com/about/ Reference 3 https://formenergy.com/form-factory-1/ Reference 14 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-secures-405m-in-series-f-financing-to-expand-iron-air-battery-business-and-operations/ |
| Series A to G (amounts and lead investors); more than US$2 billion raised in total; the difference in the Series D figure (US$200 million vs US$240 million) | Sourced | Reference 1 https://formenergy.com/about/ Reference 14 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-secures-405m-in-series-f-financing-to-expand-iron-air-battery-business-and-operations/ Reference 20 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-unveils-chemistry-of-multi-day-storage-battery-technology/ Reference 4 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-secures-750m-in-series-g-financing/ |
| The seven rounds add up to about US$1.97 billion, compared with 'more than US$2 billion' | Our calculation | Our calculation (simple sum of the round amounts). |
| US$270 million credit facility (revolving facility; tax credit advance facility against Section 45X credits; accordion up to US$1 billion) | Sourced | Reference 5 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-announces-closing-of-270m-credit-facility/ |
| About 800 MW / 80 GWh under agreement; up from about 20 GWh to 80 GWh in 2026; 'more than 65 GWh' and 'more than 75 GWh' in March announcements | Sourced | Reference 1 https://formenergy.com/about/ Reference 4 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-secures-750m-in-series-g-financing/ Reference 6 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-crusoe-announce-agreement-for-12-gigawatt-hours-of-iron-air-batteries-for-ai-data-centers/ Reference 7 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-and-futurenergy-ireland-announce-agreement-to-deploy-first-iron-air-battery-storage-project-in-ireland/ |
| Revenue, profit, R&D spending and capital expenditure not disclosed (could not be confirmed) | Not yet confirmed | Nothing in the official materials reviewed. We make no estimate (our note). |
| Principle of the iron-air battery (reversible rusting), cell / module / enclosure / power-block structure, siting density, water-based non-flammable electrolyte | Sourced | Reference 2 https://formenergy.com/technology/battery-technology/ |
| Patent abstracts: DRI pellets, 60-90% iron, SiO2, Al2O3, MgO, CaO and TiO2; low-cost metal electrodes | Sourced | Reference 22 https://patents.google.com/patent/US12362352 Reference 23 https://patents.google.com/patent/US12294086 |
| NantEnergy acquisition (2020) and the air-cathode technology; launch of Formware | Sourced | Reference 1 https://formenergy.com/about/ Reference 26 https://formenergy.com/technology/grid-modeling-software/ |
| Joint development of iron material with ArcelorMittal, its lead investment (2021); green iron process development | Sourced | Reference 20 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-unveils-chemistry-of-multi-day-storage-battery-technology/ Reference 14 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-secures-405m-in-series-f-financing-to-expand-iron-air-battery-business-and-operations/ |
| GE Vernova's participation in Series F and the memorandum of understanding (2024) | Sourced | Reference 14 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-secures-405m-in-series-f-financing-to-expand-iron-air-battery-business-and-operations/ |
| DOE selection for award negotiation of up to US$150 million (20 September 2024); new line of up to 20 GWh a year by 2027; up to 600 jobs | Sourced | Reference 8 https://formenergy.com/department-of-energy-selects-form-energy-for-150-award-for-the-buildout-of-west-virginia-battery-factory/ |
| DOE GRIP selection of the 85 MW / 8,500 MWh project in Lincoln, Maine (6 August 2024); the State of Maine announced a US$147 million grant | Sourced | Reference 12 https://formenergy.com/massachusetts-new-england-states-selected-to-receive-389-million-in-federal-funding-for-transformational-transmission-and-energy-storage-infrastructure/ Reference 13 https://www.maine.gov/governor/mills/news/governor-mills-senators-collins-king-and-congresswoman-pingree-announce-nearly-150-million |
| NYSERDA grant of US$12 million (August 2023); 10 MW / 1,000 MWh; expected online by 2026 (at the time) | Sourced | Reference 16 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-awarded-grant-to-deploy-first-multi-day-battery-system-in-new-york/ |
| Great River Energy 1.5 MW / 150 MWh (groundbreaking August 2024; 'late 2025' expectation); 2025 deployment and the 2026 expectation | Sourced | Reference 11 https://formenergy.com/great-river-energy-and-form-energy-break-ground-on-first-of-its-kind-multi-day-energy-storage-project/ Reference 1 https://formenergy.com/about/ Reference 6 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-crusoe-announce-agreement-for-12-gigawatt-hours-of-iron-air-batteries-for-ai-data-centers/ Reference 7 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-and-futurenergy-ireland-announce-agreement-to-deploy-first-iron-air-battery-storage-project-in-ireland/ |
| Xcel Energy / Google 300 MW / 30 GWh; MPUC approval required | Sourced | Reference 10 https://newsroom.xcelenergy.com/news/xcel-energy-to-power-new-google-data-center-in-minnesota |
| 12 GWh capacity agreement with Crusoe; from 2027; reserved volume, pricing and delivery terms; all manufactured at Form Factory 1 | Sourced | Reference 6 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-crusoe-announce-agreement-for-12-gigawatt-hours-of-iron-air-batteries-for-ai-data-centers/ |
| 10 MW / 1,000 MWh with FuturEnergy Ireland; expected online in 2029; first international project | Sourced | Reference 7 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-and-futurenergy-ireland-announce-agreement-to-deploy-first-iron-air-battery-storage-project-in-ireland/ |
| Two Xcel Energy projects (10 MW / 1,000 MWh each); Minnesota state approval (July 2023) | Sourced | Reference 17 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-partners-with-xcel-energy-on-two-multi-day-energy-storage-projects/ Reference 18 https://formenergy.com/xcel-energy-receives-approval-to-build-multi-day-battery-storage-at-sherco-site/ |
| Georgia Power 15 MW / 1,500 MWh (June 2023; as early as 2026; subject to regulatory approvals) | Sourced | Reference 15 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-georgia-power-continue-forward-with-15-megawatt-iron-air-battery-system-agreement/ |
| Dominion Energy 'Darbytown' proposal (September 2023; tested alongside Eos Energy Enterprises' batteries) | Sourced | Reference 19 https://formenergy.com/dominion-energy-explores-pioneering-battery-storage-technologies-in-virginia/ |
| Form Factory 1 size and floor-area statements (520,000 / 550,000 / about one million square feet; about 850,000 by 2028); at least 500 MW a year by 2028; at least 750 jobs | Sourced | Reference 3 https://formenergy.com/form-factory-1/ Reference 14 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-secures-405m-in-series-f-financing-to-expand-iron-air-battery-business-and-operations/ Reference 21 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-begins-expansion-of-form-factory-1-to-increase-manufacturing-capacity/ Reference 24 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-hosts-west-virginia-appreciation-event-marking-official-opening-of-form-factory-1/ |
| Two electrode lines and a cell assembly line under construction; equipment sought (hydraulic presses, furnaces, lamination, coating and so on) | Sourced | Reference 3 https://formenergy.com/form-factory-1/ |
| UL 9540A (cell-level) results, the PNNL technical advisor's comment, about 80% of components sourced in the U.S. (company statement) | Sourced | Reference 9 https://formenergy.com/form-energys-breakthrough-iron-air-battery-technology-sets-a-new-benchmark-for-safety-in-energy-storage-systems/ |
| Completed testing of more than 34,700 sub-scale cells and so on, and the company's statement that it demonstrated continuous 100-hour duration (individual figures and conditions could not be confirmed) | Sourced | Reference 1 https://formenergy.com/about/ |
| New CFO and COO in August 2026; stepped-up technician hiring in September | Sourced | Reference 4 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-secures-750m-in-series-g-financing/ Reference 27 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-launches-technician-hiring-sprint-in-weirton-wv/ |
| 30 GWh plus 12 GWh is 42 GWh, about 53% of 80 GWh; 30 GWh is about 38%; the projects with published sizes add up to about 56 GWh | Our calculation | Our calculation (simple division and addition of figures the company published). |
| About 800 MW under agreement is about 1.6 years of a 500 MW a year target | Our calculation | Our calculation (800 divided by 500), assuming the company's 500 MW a year target for 2028. |
| Round-trip efficiency, energy density, cycle life, price per kilowatt-hour, electrolyte composition, operating data, final DOE award, outcome of MPUC approval, and similar figures | Not yet confirmed | Nothing in the official materials reviewed. We make no estimate (our note). |
| Current status of the Georgia Power, two Xcel Energy, NYSERDA and Dominion projects | Not yet confirmed | Could not be confirmed. We do not assert that they do not exist (the sources describe the position at the time of the 2023 announcements). This is our own note. |
| The four-type classification (Cells & materials; Long-duration & new chemistries; Storage systems & operators; Recycling) and the example companies | Our calculation | Our own classification. Company names are examples from those covered in this series. |
| General statement that an air electrode is prone to degradation | Not yet confirmed | General commentary, not a description of Form Energy's design. |
| The readings that customers are widening toward data-center demand, that manufacturing start-up is the top priority, and that it seeks materials through a link to ironmaking | Inference | Our own reading (not a policy stated by the company). Reference 10 https://newsroom.xcelenergy.com/news/xcel-energy-to-power-new-google-data-center-in-minnesota Reference 6 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-crusoe-announce-agreement-for-12-gigawatt-hours-of-iron-air-batteries-for-ai-data-centers/ Reference 4 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-secures-750m-in-series-g-financing/ Reference 5 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-announces-closing-of-270m-credit-facility/ Reference 20 https://formenergy.com/form-energy-unveils-chemistry-of-multi-day-storage-battery-technology/ Reference 22 https://patents.google.com/patent/US12362352 |
Last updated: 10 October 2026 / Troy Technical
This article is based on Form Energy's official website and press releases, announcements by U.S. and state governments and Xcel Energy, and U.S. patents. Market-research estimates and press-report figures are not used. Form Energy is private and its financial information could not be confirmed. This is not an assessment of the company or its technology. Passages marked "Inference" are our own reading of primary information and are not statements by the company.