Moment Energy now operates what the company calls the world’s largest EV battery repurposing facility at a Bridgeview industrial building.
The new facility, dubbed Megafactory 1, transforms retired EV batteries into “cost-effective, rapidly deployable energy storage systems that support critical infrastructure, including data centres, hospitals, factories and microgrids,” the company boasts.
At 12850 112B Ave., a ribbon-cutting event Tuesday (June 23) celebrated work to bring domestic battery energy storage manufacturing capacity online six weeks after the project was announced.
Investors, government and industry reps gathered at the Surrey factory, expected to produce 1 GWh of battery energy storage systems by 2030, creating more than 100 direct jobs and supporting more than 1,000 indirect jobs across B.C., according to Moment Energy.
As demand for electricity continues to surge, driven by AI, data centres, electrification and grid modernization, millions of EV batteries on North American roads are expected to be retired in coming years.
“Moment Energy addresses both challenges by turning retired batteries into highly scalable energy storage systems that offer an immediate solution to energy shortages,” a company news release trumpets.
Said to be the first and only company building commercial-scale battery energy storage from second-life EV batteries, Moment Energy was founded in Vancouver in 2020.
“We announced this project six weeks ago. Today it’s operational,” said Edward Chiang, company co-founder and CEO. “Demand for energy storage is accelerating, and so is the supply of retired EV batteries. We show that the right technology can enable North America to re-onshore domestic manufacturing in weeks, not decades, creating thousands of jobs and economic prosperity.”
The opening follows Moment Energy’s recent US$40 million Series B financing round, bringing total funding to more than US$100 million and marking the next phase of the company’s expansion.
On June 24, NorthX Climate Tech (NorthX) announced a $3-million investment in Moment Energy, a third investment in the company, totalling nearly $4.5 million since 2022.
“Moment Energy was one of NorthX’s first investments,” said Sarah Goodman, NorthX president and CEO. “Today, four founders who started in half a garage in Surrey are opening a megafactory with a team of over 80 people, creating great careers, giving batteries a second life, and proving that with the right support, climate technology can be built and scaled from British Columbia.”
An investment of $4.9 million was made by Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) via the federal Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure.