Moment Energy and its shipping containers packed with old EV batteries

Demand for energy storage is surging, with capacity expected to grow eightfold in the next decade. To meet that demand, Moment Energy wants to shortcut a supply chain that now flows largely through China, by domestically repurposing EV batteries into new grid-connected storage systems.

Moment Energy’s four founders met while studying mechatronics engineering in college and worked together on a team that built and raced electric cars. After graduating, they scattered to companies including Tesla and Apple, but aimed to someday work together again.

Then, after two tornadoes tore through parts of Ottawa in 2018, taking hospitals and cell towers offline—and putting the now-CEO through his first full-scale power outage—the foursome sensed an opportunity. The team began disassembling Nissan Leaf batteries in a garage in British Columbia and repackaging them to deliver backup systems to homes and businesses. …