Viridi Parente Raises $29 Million in Series B Funding To Fuel Growth
Series B funding led by financial investor Grand Oaks Capital Tom Golisano to join the company’s Board of Directors Buffalo-based renewable energy start-up pushes valuation to $80 million in 18 months
Buffalo, New York – December 11, 2019 – The seeds of an innovative green economy are emerging and growing in Buffalo, New York.
Viridi Parente, Inc., which manufactures renewable power systems for heavy machinery and storage applications, announced today that it has secured $29 million in a Series B funding round led Grand Oaks Capital, an investment firm founded by businessman, Paychex founder, and philanthropist Tom Golisano.
Grand Oaks Capital’s investment is approximately $20 million in the Series B round. Golisano will take a seat on the company’s seven-member board of directors. Additional Series B funding was provided by Impact Capital of New York, Varia Ventures, and the Western New York Impact Investment Fund, along with a number of private investors.
Viridi Parente is a disruptive energy company that builds power systems that employ its proprietary architecture. The company’s products are clean, sustainable power sources that replace century-old distributed energy platforms, such as fossil fuel, lead-acid batteries, and other outdated technologies.
When the company launched in June 2018, Viridi Parente raised $4 million in Series A funding, placing its market value at $12 million. With the Series B funding, the company has a valuation of approximately $80 million.
“The success we’ve achieved over the past 18 months has taken our technology beyond the proof of concept phase and demonstrated its effectiveness in the marketplace on a statewide, national and international level,” said Jon M. Williams, Viridi Parente Chairman & CEO. “With this funding from our Series B investors, we are excited to take the company to the next level and begin to impact the way in which our country and the world access and rely on renewable energy.”
Viridi Parente, through subsidiaries Green Machine Equipment, Inc. and Volta Energy Products, Inc., builds clean/renewable power systems that employ proprietary Lithium-ion cells, modules, and drives for industrial applications, microgrid storage, and renewable replacements for a myriad of fossil fuel-based engine systems. Green Machine was launched in 2010 with the goal of replacing conventional diesel power sources and internal combustion engines in construction equipment. Founded in 2017, Volta Energy Products engineers and designs in-place Distributed Energy Systems that give customers instantaneous back up in a utility outage, will peak shave demand costs and create a sustainable and balanced energy profile.
“I am excited to be a part of this tremendous opportunity with Viridi Parente,” Golisano said. “Jon has created an outstanding organization that is dedicated to a technology that is on the cusp of widespread adoption. I believe their proprietary battery system will accelerate market acceptance in the storage and machine markets.”
Today, Green Machine’s Whispertechtm technology is at work powering mini excavators, portable light towers and clean power storage devices. In addition to numerous safety benefits, systems powered by Whispertechtm have zero tailpipe emissions in comparison to diesel equivalents, and significantly reduced operating and maintenance costs. National Grid has successfully used the technology in the field for the past six years, and Viridi Parente is currently designing electrified platforms for a growing number of original equipment manufacturers.
Viridi Parente is also currently preparing to install the first distributed storage system application of its technology. The system will support a high-powered, state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscope at the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute (HWI), a worldwide leader in structural biology research located in Buffalo. The microscope, which has the ability to fast-track medical discoveries, has an extremely high electrical demand. The use of an on-site Volta storage device will help HWI realize significant cost savings by lowering electricity demand and reducing costly infrastructure upgrades, while also easing the burden on the local power grid. The Volta storage system will draw electricity from the grid during off-peak times, when demand and costs are low. During higher usage times, the microscope will draw upon the stored power, providing an uninterrupted and clean source of electricity. The Volta storage system is the first of its kind in New York State.
Earlier this year, New York State passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act which seeks to make New York’s electrical grid carbon-free by 2040 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions statewide by 85 percent by 2050. According to Williams, innovations like distributed storage technology are essential to achieving those goals, not only in New York but throughout North America.
“Goals and targets are important, and New York has set an aggressive mark, but with that needs to come the ability to deliver something that works better than what we have today. Viridi Parente will make energy more sustainable, reliable and cost-effective,” Williams added.
“Distributed storage is a key that can make renewable policy goals achievable, enhance the end-user experience, and reduce costs. Viridi Parente will be a renewable economic engine for New York State and the nation. That’s our goal and that is what our technology will do.”
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About Tom Golisano
Tom Golisano — entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civic leader — is chairman of the board of Paychex, Inc., a leading national provider of payroll, human resource, and benefit outsourcing solutions for more than a half-million small and medium-sized businesses. Mr. Golisano’s vision, perseverance, and action have left an indelible mark on a broad spectrum of issues that touch our lives - in business, healthcare, education, voter policies, politics, and tax reform. Mr. Golisano’s personal philanthropic contributions to hospitals — including three children’s hospitals that bear his name — numerous educational institutions and other organizations exceed $300 million. A fierce advocate for dignity and inclusion, Tom Golisano applied his pioneering spirit to establish the Golisano Foundation to help make the world a better place for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Foundation is now one of the largest private foundations in the U.S. devoted to supporting programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In recognition of his achievements and endeavors, Mr. Golisano has received numerous awards and holds honorary doctorate degrees from five different colleges and universities. He serves on the board of directors of several private companies and institutions.
Read more about Tom Golisano and the Golisano Foundation at golisanofoundation.org.