Bulb founder raises £100m for battery storage firm

THE co-founder of Bulb Energy is raising about £100 million for a net-zero start-up he says will help to cut energy bills.

Amit Gudka, a former Barclays energy trader, set up battery storage firm Field after leaving Bulb earlier this year.

He is raising funds from major investors to build 300MW of battery capacity – enough electricity to power 500,000 homes during peak times by 2023.

Field owns battery storage sites in Oldham, Greater Manchester, and Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, and has planning permission and grid connections for seven more in Scotland, Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Gudka, who founded Bulb with Hayden Wood in 2015, said his new venture will help to keep energy bills low by accelerating the shift from gas to cheaper green electricity, which needs battery storage infrastructure. It will smooth spikes in electricity demand by charging the batteries overnight when demand is low and then releasing electricity to the market at peak times.

Gudka plans to scale up to 1.3GW of storage capacity by 2024. There is currently a total of 1.6GW of battery storage in the UK.

His early investors include Wise founder Taavet Hinrikus and venture capital firm Giant Ventures.

Gudka said: ‘Battery storage is vital to solving the energy issues we’re facing in the UK.’