NIKOLA POWER CORP. Closes Series A Financing, Bringing Game-Changing AI Energy Management Software to Fruition.
Led by Arosa Capital with MaSa Partners, Pine Gate Renewables, Crosstimbers Ventures & Off Ramp Technologies.
Denver, CO - Nikola Power, the Denver-based climate tech software firm, is thrilled to announce it has closed its Series A round. The announcement of this successful round coincides with their new brand name - WATTMORE™. With their strong business trajectory and new funding in place, WATTMORE provides a clean new look and is more representative of their future.
This funding is a defining moment for the company, recognizing Nikola Power’s growing momentum and increasing demand for its AI-powered Energy Management System (EMS) Software Platform within the energy storage market.
“All it took was a little perseverance,“ Nikola Power’s CEO J.W. Postal quipped. “With COVID-19 and evolving market dynamics, it has taken a little longer than I planned, but today, I could not be more proud of our team for their focus and dedication to our vision to make a significant climate impact by enabling a massive scaling of energy storage,” stated Postal.
“Arosa Capital is a fantastic partner for this stage of our growth. Arosa is a sophisticated investor that knows the future is in renewables and also recognizes renewable energy alone will not solve our climate challenge. To make a significant difference for the planet, renewables need to be paired with intelligent AI-based SaaS software to evaluate their impact and expand their footprint,” stated Postal.
Nikola Power specializes in developing AI-powered software tools to empower the green energy industry to scale efficiently and more effectively. The Nikola Power Intellect Plus EMS platform is a state-of-the-art SaaS software engine built to help utilities, developers and asset owners optimize and monetize energy storage.
“We could not be more excited to join forces with J.W. Postal and Dr. Reza Ghorbani. We are really excited about their revolutionary software products, customer traction, industry connections and vision. This outstanding team is an undiscovered gem in this increasingly critical space,” Arosa’s CEO Till Bechtolsheimer said.
Ben Catt, CEO of Pine Gate Renewables, agreed. “This investment in Nikola Power is aligned with our belief that software will be critical in transitioning the energy economy. It is innovation at its best and will help Pine Gate Renewables (PGR) win, develop and operate energy storage projects around the country - AI software that can model, predict, optimize and control energy storage assets is the key to the next 10 years. We believe Nikola Power and PGR have a bright future together, and we are excited to collaborate and win these exciting projects.”
Bringing this game changing software to market is the realization of a long-time dream of Postal’s and Dr. Reza Ghorbani, the organization’s CTO and lead innovator. “This Series A is validation for our years of work building, refining and testing our energy management analysis and operations software for the commercial, utility and microgrid markets. Working with these amazing investors and our strategic partners at Tetra Tech and Pine Gate Renewables will allow us to build and deliver the industry's most innovative AI platform seen to date,” Dr. Ghorbani shared.
Postal and Ghorbani also remarked that additional financing to accelerate Nikola Power’s mission could not have come at a more opportune time. “Not only will we make battery storage management more efficient and bring down energy costs, we are doing it at a time when companies and governments are all too acutely aware of the impact of the climate crisis and desperately need new and smarter solutions. With wildfires, droughts and unpredictable weather patterns devastating our natural resources and endangering human lives, this capital investment and these key partnerships will enable Nikola Power to bring its innovative predictive energy planning and bold smart energy management solutions to the industry at this pivotal tipping point for the planet,” Postal imparted. “We can no longer wait. The time for intelligent energy is now.”
About Nikola Power (dba WATTMORE) is a Denver-based company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) software tools for expanding renewable distributed energy resources. Nikola Power specializes in building solutions, bringing to life their vision of a 100% renewable energy-powered world. https://nikolapower.com/
About Arosa Capital
Founded in August 2013 by Till Bechtolsheimer and Abraham Joseph, Arosa is an alternative investment manager focusing on investments in energy and related sectors. The Firm seeks a differentiated approach to the opportunity set, for both traditional and alternative energy, through rigorous fundamental analysis and holistic evaluation of the sector to seek investment opportunities across the capital structure, in both public and private companies, real assets and commodities.
About MaSa Partners is an impact venture that invests patient capital in early-stage, mission-driven companies solving today’s problems. Founded in 2015 by Max Duckworth and Sarah Godlewski, MaSa works collaboratively with founders, boards, investors and other stakeholders to help build the foundations of success and deliver impact. MaSa has made a number of investments in the climate arena, with a focus on facilitating and democratizing access to renewable energy against a backdrop of energy market and grid transformation.
About Pine Gate Renewables is a leading renewable energy company focused on project development and strategic financing of solar and storage projects throughout the United States. It currently manages more than 1GW of operational assets, with more than 15GW in active development and has raised over $3.7 billion in project capital to date. The company’s Pine Gate Impact Initiative contributes to multiple non-profit organizations aimed at improving the environment and local communities. Headquartered in Asheville, NC, Pine Gate Renewables made the Inc. 5000 list in 2021, placing #37 and was named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list in 2021. Pine Gate Renewables works everyday to achieve its mission to “Get Solar Done.”
About Crosstimbers Ventures is a Houston, TX-based investment firm that makes direct investments in scalable, entrepreneur-owned companies and other compelling opportunities.
