Zürcher Nachrichten - Ore Energy Raises $43 Million to Unlock Renewable Baseload Power for the AI Era

AMSTERDAM, NL AND DELFT, NL / ACCESS Newswire / August 4, 2026 / As demand for electricity from AI, manufacturing, and the energy transition accelerates worldwide, Ore Energy has raised $43 million in Series A funding from Plural and HV to scale its iron-air battery technology. Ore's batteries, designed to store renewable electricity for up to 100 hours, can solve one of the biggest barriers to the energy transition: affordable, long-duration energy storage. The funding brings the company's total raised to more than $61 million.

Founded by Aytac Yilmaz (CEO), Rutil Özdemir (COO) and Yaiza Gonzalez Garcia (CSO), Ore Energy's iron-air batteries deliver energy by rusting and unrusting iron electrodes. Built using abundant, low-cost materials including iron, water, and air, its batteries can be manufactured through a fully European supply chain, without relying on expensive imported critical raw materials like lithium or cobalt. The fully scalable, modular design delivers a plug-and-play energy storage system at 10x lower cost per unit of energy capacity than lithium-ion for long-duration storage, making renewable electricity affordable and available on demand.

Solving the energy storage challenge

Global electricity demand from data centres is set to more than double to around 945 TWh by 2030, with AI-optimised data centres projected to more than quadruple over the same period. AI training and inference cause large, rapid swings in power demand, making storage critical to keeping reliable electricity supplies. Wind and solar are now the cheapest sources of new electricity generation, but their outputs are inherently volatile: generation exceeds grid capacity when conditions are favourable, and fall short during low-wind or wintery periods, with no adequate way to store the surplus for later use.

This mismatch between generation and demand is already costing Europe real money. The UK has already spent almost £6 billion ($8bn) paying renewable generators to switch off since 2011. Without investment in grid infrastructure, wasted wind energy alone is projected to cost the UK £8bn ($10.7bn) a year by 2030. Across Europe, around 72 TWh of renewable electricity is wasted every year through grid bottlenecks, enough to be worth almost €7bn ($8bn) at current wholesale electricity prices. Pressure is intensifying, with European data centre electricity demand projected to increase by 45TWh by 2030 at exactly the moment the continent needs to accelerate its industrial and energy transition.

Ore's iron-air batteries solve this challenge by storing renewable electricity for up to 100 hours before feeding it back to the grid whenever demand requires. Co-located with wind farms, the batteries reduce curtailment - when renewable energy is wasted because the grid can't take it - make better use of existing grid infrastructure and provide the firm, round-the-clock dispatchable output needed to replace gas.

Ore Energy has already signed a 1GWh deal with Budget Thuis, a challenger Dutch-based energy and telecoms utility supplier, whilst pilot projects with French utility EDF have demonstrated how its technology performs in real-world utility settings.

Powering the world's new industrial age

The new funding, which included participation from Positron Ventures, will enable Ore 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. By 2035, Ore Energy aims to make iron-air the standard grid infrastructure for long-duration energy storage and power the world's new industrial age through firm, renewable baseload power.

Aytac Yilmaz, Co-founder and CEO of Ore Energy, said: "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. Ore Energy's long-duration storage is an essential part of that future. This funding will help us build our first manufacturing facility and put us on the path to gigawatt hour-scale production, making renewable electricity available whenever and wherever needed."

Ian Hogarth, partner at Plural, said: "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. Aytac, Rutil and the team have combined world-class science with exceptional execution to make iron-air batteries commercially viable, whilst providing a critical technology, not just for Europe but as an important export technology too. 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."

Maxi Pethö-Schramm, principal at HV, said: "If we want to meet the future energy demands of AI data centres while providing European industry with affordable, reliable baseload power, then we need long-duration storage. Only then will Europe have the means to compete in the complex, energy-intensive sectors that will define the continent's future. Ore has developed a practical, scalable solution that combines breakthrough technology with a clear path to manufacturing at scale and we're excited to back a team with the ambition to bring this critical infrastructure to market."

Media Contacts

Ore Energy: [email protected]

Plural: [email protected]

HV Capital: [email protected]

About Ore Energy:

Ore Energy develops grid-scale iron-air batteries for long-duration energy storage. Using only iron, water, and air - no lithium or cobalt - its systems store energy safely for up to 100 hours and can be built using a fully European supply chain. Ore Energy's mission is to make low-cost renewable energy available to grids and data centres at all times, closing the multi-day gaps that still force the use of fossil fuels. Follow Ore Energy on LinkedIn and visit oreenergy.com.

About Plural:

Plural is an early-stage investment fund that backs the most ambitious founders on a mission to change the world through technology. Plural launched in June 2022 with the aim to give serious founders in Europe investors with experience to match their ambition. Based in Tallinn, Estonia, and London, UK, Plural's mission is to have GDP-level impact on Europe, address systemic risks and reduce the opportunity gap worldwide through the companies it backs. https://pluralplatform.com

About HV:

HV is one of the leading early-stage and growth investors in Europe. With nine fund generations in 26 years and €2.8 bn in managed assets, HV is one of the continent's most active investors. The investment team has many years of experience in identifying European startups with great potential for success. In addition to international success stories like Flix, Zalando, Delivery Hero, Sumup, and Depop, innovation leaders such as Quantum Systems, Marvel Fusion, Sennder, Neura Robotics, Enpal, and Isar Aerospace, are also part of the portfolio. HV has invested in more than 290 internet and technology companies, supporting startups with ticket sizes ranging from €0.5m to €60m. It is one of Europe's few venture capital firms that can finance startups through all growth phases. HV has a team of more than 60+ investment and operations professionals who provide a variety of perspectives and expertise across the venture capital landscape. https://www.hvcapital.com/

SOURCE: Ore Energy

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