LightSail_Energy

LightSail Energy

LightSail Energy

Compressed air energy storage technology startup

LightSail Energy (2008–2018) was an American compressed air energy storage technology startup.[1][2] The company shut down in 2018, failing to produce a product. [3][4] The unused tanks were sold away to natural gas companies in 2016. [5]

Quick Facts Type of site, Founded ...

Projects

A method of spraying the air with water droplets was proposed by LightSail to increase the efficiency of compressed air tanks. [2] The company initially aimed to power an urban scooter. It later shifted its aim to fitting a compressed air-powered generator inside a standard shipping container.[6][7] In 2014, the company received funding from Nova Scotia for a wind turbine project. This project did not come to fruition, costing the province $2M Canadian dollars.[8][2] Starting in 2016, its remaining tanks were repurposed and sold off to the natural gas industry.[9]

Funding

Investors in LightSail include Khosla Ventures, Peter Thiel, Microsoft founder Bill Gates,[10] Innovacorp, and oil supermajor Total S.A.[11] In 2012, LightSail D-round founding rose 37.5 millions US$.[2] It reached 55 employees in late 2014.[12] By February 2016, LightSail had raised about $70 million in venture capital investment.[13]

In December 2017, the company ran out of money.[2] It cut the workforce down to 15 as it entered "hibernation".[14] In March 2018, the company shut down.[2] An investor cited the emergence of more efficient and cost effective Lithium-ion batteries as the reason for LightSail's commercial failure.[2] Media specializing in startups and renewable energy have described the company as mismanaged. [15][16]

References

  1. [1]
    Frangoul, Anmar (January 12, 2015). "A lot of hot air? Why energy storage matters". CNBC.
  2. [2]
    Moriera, Peter (2018-03-16). "Innovacorp's $2M LightSail Bet Fails". Entrevestor.com. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  3. [3]
    "Storing energy in compressed air could finally become cheap enough for the big time". Quartz. 2019-09-19. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  4. [4]
    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/province-likely-to-lose-2m-in-failed-energy-storage-project-1.4584189
  5. [5]
    "Why Bad Things Happen to Clean-Energy Startups". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  6. [6]
    Fehrenbacher, Katie (November 7, 2012). "In the post-Solyndra era, still some (rare) big bets left for cleantech". GigaOm.
  7. [7]
    Holt, David (October 2014). "Reaching for the moon". Progress Media. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016.
  8. [8]
    Woodbury, Richard (2018-03-20). "Province likely to lose $2M in failed energy-storage project". CBC News.
  9. [9]
    Bergstein, Brian (December 22, 2015). "The Energy Startup Conundrum". MIT Technology Review.
  10. [10]
    Metz, Rachel (November 5, 2012). "LightSail Energy Snags $37M in Funding". MIT Technology Review.
  11. [11]
    Wesoff, Eric; Trabish, Herman (February 18, 2013). "LightSail Gets $5.5M From Total, Thiel, Khosla, Gates for Compressed Air Energy Storage". Greentech Media.
  12. [12]
    Okyle, Carly (September 15, 2014). "Top 30 Startups to Watch". Entrepreneur.
  13. [13]
    Haislip, Barbara (February 21, 2016). "Energy-Storage Startup LightSail Plots Long-Term Game Plan". The Wall Street Journal.
  14. [14]
    Spector, Julian (2017-12-19). "LightSail Energy Enters 'Hibernation' as Quest for Game-Changing Energy Storage Runs Out of Cash". www.greentechmedia.com. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  15. [15]
    Wesoff, Eric (May 26, 2016). "LightSail Energy Storage and the Failure of the Founder Narrative". Greentech Media.
  16. [16]
    Luce, Ivan De (2020-11-10). "These fraudulent founders were once hailed as 'the next Steve Jobs' of their now-disgraced startups". www.businessofbusiness.com. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
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