Podcasts

Battery powerhouse Powin’s new CEO eyes public markets

Battery powerhouse Powin’s new CEO eyes public markets
Powin's 88 MW/387 MWh battery storage project in California. The BESS is paired with a solar farm. (Courtesy: Powin)

Episode 68 of the Factor This! podcast features Powin Energy CEO Jeff Waters, who highlights opportunities ahead for battery storage, weighs in on concerns of market saturation, and discusses a potential IPO timeline. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Jeff Waters is always looking for a challenge. He thrives on chasing growth and the rush that comes with solving hard problems. And a maturing market often signals the need for a fresh start.

In 2020, Water was tapped to lead solar module manufacturer Maxeon in its spinoff from SunPower into public markets. But once that transition was complete, and Maxeon reached a state of independent stability, the itch for uncertainty, and opportunity, returned.

So, it may come as no surprise that Waters found his way earlier this year to battery storage, and to one of its darlings, Oregon-based Powin Energy. The company, with 3 GWh of assets in operation, and another 12 GWh in production, is steadily separating itself from a pack of would-be contenders.

Waters' move raises an interesting question: Could Powin, one of the hottest names in battery storage, be the next pure-play clean energy platform to go public?

Only a few months on the job, Waters told the Factor This! podcast from Renewable Energy World that he is not only intrigued by the allure of public markets, but also is positioning Powin to be "IPO ready" for the time when the right opportunity arises. That time could be soon.

Powin breaks away

Powin Energy is no newcomer. But much of the decade-old battery supplier's growth has shifted in the last few years to better align with the battery storage industry's burgeoning role in the energy transition.

Aside from cell manufacturing, Powin provides all aspects of a grid-scale battery solution: power electronics, construction, commissioning, software, and O&M.

What sets Powin aside is its insistence on being a developer's single partner. While a plethora of third-party software providers have emerged to manage and optimize battery assets, Powin only offers a packaged deal: hardware and software. 

Waters said the approach enhances trust and accountability with its customers.

"If you're working on something that's important, if you think you're solving an important problem, the worst situation to be in is when you've got people pointing fingers," Waters said.

Waters draws on his experience in the semiconductor industry where he led business units for the likes of National Semiconductor and Texas Instruments, and also as a board member of the Global Semiconductor Alliance.

As the automotive industry transitioned into the world of IoT, product recalls would result in a flurry of finger-pointing over who was responsible for the latest mishap.

"Nobody's happy, everybody's upset, and the problem doesn't get solved," Waters said. "I think by having it more underneath one roof, it gives me a feeling of confidence. At the bare minimum, we're going to get it solved faster."

Watch the full episode on YouTube

'IPO ready'

The appeal of public markets, at least for Waters, is linked to the expedited access to capital— an especially useful tool for a company building multi-million-dollar infrastructure projects. A public company can raise several hundred million dollars in a matter of days, whereas it might take a private-side firm weeks or months to do the same.

Waters said a "great surrogate" for Powin's public market prospects is Fluence, the battery storage hardware and software provider that closed its IPO just short of $1 billion in November 2021.

"If you look at how they were received in the market, it tells you that the public markets are a good potential path for us," Waters said.

And while Waters is positioning Powin to be "IPO ready" with the necessary documentation and systems in place to strike when the moment is right, he's not in a rush. He said an alternative scenario could keep Powin as a private company, crediting the patient capital of investors like Energy Impact Partners, Trilantic North America, and GIC.

"We're doing a lot right now to get there," Waters said of preparing for a potential IPO. "If I think about what we need to do, it's not long-term. It's relatively near term."