Certain Energy Raises £10M to Tackle Britain’s £8B Grid Waste Problem

Certain Energy Raises £10M to Tackle Britain’s £8B Grid Waste Problem

Certain Energy, formerly known as RFC Power, has raised £10 million in Series A funding led by the British Business Bank, with Centrica, Ceres Power Holdings, and Catalytic Capital also participating.

The Imperial College London spin-off is developing long-duration energy storage technology designed to help grid operators store renewable power and reduce costly energy curtailment.

From Imperial College Lab to Energy Storage Startup

Founded in 2017 by professors Anthony Kucernak and Nigel Brandon, Certain Energy spent eight years developing its technology before becoming independent from Ceres Power.

The company uses manganese as its battery electrolyte instead of lithium or vanadium. Its flow-battery design allows storage capacity to be increased by expanding electrolyte tanks rather than adding more cells.

Building a Scalable Grid Storage Solution

The UK paid around £1.5 billion to renewable energy producers to reduce their output in 2025, with the cost potentially reaching £8 billion annually by 2030.

Certain Energy says its technology delivers more than 75% round-trip efficiency and can operate for around 20 years with limited degradation.

The new funding will support a grid-connected MWh-scale demonstration project in India, expansion of its UK research facility, and development of the supply chain required for future growth.