This Amsterdam Startup's Iron-Air Batteries Could Store Renewable Power for 100 Hours

Jan de Vries · 2026-08-04

Ore Energy, an Amsterdam-based startup, just raised $43 million in Series A funding to scale its grid-scale iron-air batteries. These batteries are designed for long-duration energy storage, tackling one of the biggest hurdles in the renewable energy transition. The round was led by Plural and HV, with participation from Positron Ventures. This brings the company's total funding to $61 million. Founded in 2023 by Aytac Yilmaz (CEO), Rutil Özdemir (COO), and Yaiza Gonzalez Garcia (CSO), Ore Energy's technology is as clever as it is simple: it stores energy by essentially rusting and unrusting iron electrodes. ### Why Iron-Air Batteries? Unlike lithium-ion batteries that rely on expensive and often imported materials like lithium and cobalt, Ore Energy's batteries use iron, water, and air. These are abundant, low-cost, and can be sourced entirely within Europe. This not only cuts costs but also reduces dependence on volatile global supply chains. The company claims its batteries can solve the affordability problem of long-duration storage. They can store renewable electricity for up to 100 hours, which means wind and solar power generated on a windy or sunny day can be saved and used later when the grid needs it most. Aytac Yilmaz, co-founder and CEO, put it bluntly: "Expensive energy is the biggest barrier to growth, something European businesses and politicians know only too well. Affordable, renewable baseload power is the foundation for the next generation of manufacturing, AI infrastructure and industrial growth globally. This funding will help us build our first manufacturing facility and put us on the path to gigawatt hour-scale production." ### The Growing Need for Storage The urgency is real. Global electricity demand from data centers is set to more than double to around 945 TWh by 2030. AI-optimized data centers are projected to more than quadruple over the same period. AI training and inference create large, rapid swings in power demand, making reliable storage critical. Wind and solar are now the cheapest sources of new electricity, but their output is inherently volatile. On favorable days, generation exceeds grid capacity; on calm or cloudy days, it falls short. Without adequate storage, this mismatch leads to curtailment—wasted renewable energy—and higher costs for everyone. Ore Energy's batteries, co-located with wind farms, can reduce curtailment and provide firm, round-the-clock dispatchable output. This could replace gas peaker plants and make better use of existing grid infrastructure. Ian Hogarth, partner at Plural, believes this is a game-changer: "Long-duration energy storage is one of the biggest unsolved challenges in the energy transition, and unlocking it will transform how we power industry, scale AI data centres and drive economic growth. By getting so much more out of every unit of wind we already have, Ore Energy has the potential to become one of the world's most important energy companies." ### What's Next for Ore Energy? With this fresh capital, Ore Energy plans to establish its first manufacturing facility, ahead of its target for gigawatt hour-scale manufacturing in 2028. The facility will validate manufacturing at scale, supported by team expansion across manufacturing, commercial, and operational roles. The company has already signed a 1GWh deal with Budget Thuis, a Dutch challenger energy and telecoms supplier, and pilot projects with French utility EDF have demonstrated the technology's potential. In a nutshell, Ore Energy is betting that the future of energy storage is not exotic, but elemental. And with this funding, they're moving closer to making that future a reality.