EnerVenue has landed its first multi-megawatt-hour commercial contract, securing a deal to deploy 11 MWh of its radically different battery technology at an oilfield in northern China.
The milestone order arrives just a day before the company officially opens its high-volume manufacturing facility in Changzhou, Jiangsu on September 24. The new plant marks the world’s first facility to produce the company’s Aqueous Metal Cells (AMC) at scale, with an initial capacity of 250 MWh a year, ramping up to a full gigawatt-hour by 2027.
Passing the Ultimate Safety Test The massive 11 MWh order was placed by a major, currently unnamed Chinese oil and gas producer. The project will pair 26 of EnerVenue’s containerized “Energy Prism” storage units with an onsite solar array, capturing daytime solar output to power the remote oilfield operation around the clock.
Breaking into the oil and gas sector is notoriously difficult for battery providers. Sites operate under the world’s most stringent fire and process safety requirements, often locking out traditional lithium-ion systems. EnerVenue won the contract primarily because its water-based, lithium-free electrolyte is entirely non-flammable and carries zero risk of thermal runaway.
Space-Age Tech, Down to Earth Economics EnerVenue’s batteries are built on the same nickel-hydrogen chemistry that powered the Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station for decades, re-engineered with low-cost, earth-abundant materials like steel, nickel, and glass-fiber composites.
This unique chemistry drastically alters project economics:
- 30-Year Lifespan: The cells are designed to handle 30,000 charge cycles—up to three cycles a day for 30 years, compared to a typical lithium-ion lifespan of 8,000 to 10,000 cycles.
- No Augmentation: A traditional lithium-ion setup typically needs replacing or augmenting every seven to ten years. EnerVenue’s batteries require zero scheduled augmentation.
- Minimal Auxiliary Costs: The systems need no active cooling and, depending on local codes, no expensive fire suppression systems.
- Highly Recyclable: Containing no lithium and no rare earth metals, the bulk materials can be easily recovered and reused at the end of their life.
The first three Energy Prism units will ship to the northern China site in December 2026, with the remaining 23 following in March 2027. This follows the successful deployment of a smaller 150 kWh system that has been operating in Jintan, Changzhou since November 2025.
A New Hardware Lineup To support its global expansion which already spans projects in the US, Canada, EU, Australia, and Saudi Arabia EnerVenue is using the Changzhou factory launch to unveil a complete suite of battery systems all built on its core chemistry:
- Energy Core (30 kWh): For distributed and remote sites.
- Energy Cube (108 kWh): Optimized for in-building and data center applications.
- Energy Rack (150 kWh): Built for commercial, industrial, and grid-connected environments.
- Energy Prism: Containerized units designed for utility and heavy industrial sites.
Backed by over $700 million in total funding including a recent $300 million Series B extension led by Full Vision Capital, EnerVenue is aggressively positioning its zero-fire-risk batteries as the new standard for heavy industry and critical infrastructure.
Leadership Comments
“An oil and gas producer does not put new technology on a working site unless it is completely satisfied that the safety case is sound,” said Henning Rath, CEO of EnerVenue. “A battery designed to run for thirty years is a piece of infrastructure, and infrastructure gets judged on how it performs across its whole life rather than on the day it is delivered.”
Dr. Majid Keshavarz, EnerVenue’s Chief Technology Officer, noted that the AMC chemistry fundamentally prevents the exothermic chain reactions that plague other battery types, allowing it to easily pass the industry’s rigorous UL 9540A fire propagation tests.
