Torus Raises $67 Million for Energy Storage and Management Platform
Today Torus, Inc. announced a significant equity fundraising round and the expansion of its Board of Directors.
Based in Lehi, Utah, Torus is a modern global energy solutions company that designs, engineers, and manufactures energy storage and management products for the residential, commercial, and large-scale utility sectors. The company’s mission is to empower communities and individuals to become their own renewable energy providers, thereby making clean, renewable energy storage and management products accessible to all.
This financing round, totaling $67 million in new equity, conversion of outstanding notes, and a loan facility, was led by Origin Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Chicago, San Francisco and other cities (including Salt Lake City). Origin Ventures is known for investing in disruptive software and hardware companies powering the Digital Native economy.
Several Utah-based institutional investors also participated in the financing round, including Epic Ventures (Salt Lake City), Cumming Capital (Salt Lake City), the Larry H. Miller Company (Salt Lake City), Zions Bank (Salt Lake City), and Pelion (Salt Lake City). ICONIQ (San Francisco and other cities) also participated in the round.
Nate Walkingshaw, CEO and Founder of Torus, expressed excitement for the future, saying, “We are thrilled to have Origin Ventures leading this equity financing. We continue to make significant technical strides in energy storage and management. We at Torus are proud to be designing, engineering and manufacturing energy storage and management products here in the U.S. Our strategic partnerships with industry giants like the Rocky Mountain Power Wattsmart Program and our relationship with Vivint Smart Home, alongside financing allies Sungage and Banterra Bank, are empowering communities to embrace energy storage. This will assist the commercial and utility sectors to physically expand and maintain resilience. This progress marks a major step towards a future where renewable energy storage and management is accessible for all.”
Torus plans to use these funds to deepen its energy solutions portfolio in the commercial and large-scale utility sectors and add critical talent to the Torus team.
Torus Product Portfolio Overview:
Virtual Power Plant: Torus has innovated a virtual power plant ecosystem that links thousands of energy resources for efficient grid management, collecting extensive data for predictive analytics that enable customers to participate in demand response programs, energy arbitrage and frequency regulation initiatives. Torus is collaborating with the nation’s leading virtual power plant program run by Rocky Mountain Power. The Wattsmart Battery Program plays a vital role in unplanned and planned demand response programs, enhancing grid resilience in parts of the western United States.- Energy Management: Torus provides an advanced energy storage and management system designed, engineered, and manufactured in Utah. The system integrates a cutting-edge CPU design and uses AI with an enterprise software interface to manage agnostic hardware devices.
The management system seamlessly connects with various third-party products like inverters, batteries, and EV chargers, creating a comprehensive energy solution for all customer segments. - Unified Customer Experience: Torus’ unified user experience enables customers to personalize any of their energy settings by connecting to a range of renewable energy generation sources and energy storage solutions. Additionally, Torus integrates with multiple software-based energy products like thermostats, EV chargers and Wi-Fi-connected appliances, culminating in an all-encompassing energy management operating system, all accessible through a single, streamlined application.
Energy Storage: Torus Flywheel energy storage is strongly differentiated from chemical batteries because it is 95 percent recyclable, unaffected by ambient temperature fluctuations, and provides a 25-year service life. This enables the commercial or industrial sectors to sustain operations via short- and long-duration demand response profiles. The Torus Flywheel can also supply excess power to a company’s facility or back to the grid, promoting sustainable community practices and expanding the grid’s resilience.
Torus also added two new board members: David Bywater, former CEO of Vivint Smart Home and Vivint Solar, and Brent Hill, Managing Director at Origin Ventures. Their expertise and industry experience are expected to be helpful in guiding Torus through its next phases of growth.
“Joining the board of Torus at this critical juncture is incredibly exciting," said David Bywater. "The potential of renewable energy storage to transform how we consume and manage energy is enormous. We believe Torus is not just creating an innovative platform for renewable energy; it’s pioneering a monumental leap in scalable clean energy. I look forward to contributing to the company’s success and helping to accelerate its impact on the renewable energy market.”
Brent Hill, Managing Partner at Origin Ventures, remarked, “Torus offers reliable, scalable and secure solutions that can bring real change at all levels of the energy storage market. We are most excited about domestic manufacturing and production of energy storage and management products here in the U.S. As a Board member, I will work toward aligning the Torus vision to the pressing needs of an ever-expanding grid. The future and market outlook of Torus is bright!”
For more information, visit www.torus.co, and see TechBuzz News' July 2023 coverage of Torus' launch of Torus Station.