Zenobe Energy, a battery storage solutions provider, announced that it secured an investment worth £150 million (~$ 198.91 million) from Infracapital, the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G.

The company said the funding would be utilized to support the expansion of its grid-scale battery, electric vehicles (EV), and charging infrastructure.

Zenobe Energy anticipates the new funding combined with debt facilities will allow the company to deploy about £450 million (~$ 596.62 million) in these sectors, driving the consumption of batteries to support renewable energy generation and vehicle fleets’ electrification in the U.K. and overseas.

The total investment will enable the company to assist consumers with 500 MWh of additional grid-connected batteries as well as up to 1,000 more electric buses or vehicles and associated infrastructure software systems over the next 18 to 24 months.

“With our focus on innovation and provision of solutions to consumers that combine our technology, operational, and financing capabilities, this investment will be crucial in allowing us to achieve our growth ambitions in the U.K. and abroad,” said Nicholas Beatty, founder-director of Zenobe Energy.

The battery storage operator said that its innovative solutions combined with Infracapital’s funding and proven infrastructure experience would help advance electric vehicles’ take up and the investment in batteries in the U.K. It would also support the international expansion of the company, it added.

In June 2020, NatWest Group provided receivable funding worth £20 million (~$ 26.53 million) to Zenobe Energy to support its electric vehicle business. Last year, the company secured £25 million (~$ 33.16 million) of equity from JERA Storage BV and another £25 million (~$ 33.16 million) as the non-recourse debt facility against battery storage projects from Santander Group. Before that, it raised £40 million (~$ 53.09 million) from private investors and Tiger Infrastructure Partners in 2017.

According to Zenobe Energy, the company has 170 MW of grid-scale batteries in operation or construction that provide various services, including balancing as well as power and reactive power services to the national grid and distribution network operators in the U.K. It is currently supporting over 100 electric buses and finalizing contracts to support additional 250 electric buses by the summer of 2021.

The global venture capital funding for battery storage companies in the first nine months (9M) of 2020 was 25% lower with $1.2 billion in 21 deals compared to $1.6 billion in 25 deals in 9M 2019, according to Mercom’s 9M and Q3 Funding and M&A Report For Storage, Grid & Efficiency.