Berlin's Terra One Lands €150m for Battery Storage
Terra One founders Tony Schumacher and Thomas Antonioli - © Terra One
Berlin startup Terra One has secured €150 million in funding from asset manager Aviva Investors to expand its grid-scale battery storage operations, according to a company press release.
The 2022-founded company, led by cofounders Thomas Antonioli (former Grover CFO) and Tony Schumacher (ex-Teclead Ventures), operates a straightforward but crucial business model. Terra One purchases batteries from manufacturers like CATL and Tesla, connects them to the electrical grid, then buys energy when prices are lowest—typically midday and nighttime—before selling it back when renewable energy supply drops and prices spike.
This mezzanine financing from Aviva Investors represents a significant scale-up from Terra One's €7.5 million seed round in April 2024, which attracted investors including PT1, Commerzbank, 468 Capital, and N26 cofounder Maximilian Tayenthal, plus scout funds from Andreessen Horowitz and Hedosophia.
Beyond building battery sites, Terra One is developing proprietary software to predict European energy prices and optimize trading decisions. "We have to show investors that there's a high, attractive return profile in the market," explains Schumacher, emphasizing the need to attract institutional capital for renewable energy infrastructure.
The mezzanine structure—sitting between senior debt and equity—allows Terra One to fund new battery sites without heavily diluting founders and early investors, a common approach for capital-intensive infrastructure projects.
As Europe transitions toward greener energy, companies like Terra One play an increasingly vital role in storing renewable power for when wind and solar generation drops. The startup joins other battery storage players like UK's Field (£200m raised in 2023) and Sweden's Ingrid Capacity ($100m in 2024).