Portable battery maker Moxion raises $100M, eyes Hollywood

Moxion Power, a Bay Area builder of portable batteries for film sets, construction sites, and events, said it raised a $100 million Series B round and signed a deal with Sunbelt Rentals.

Why it matters: Replacing noisy diesel generators may seem one of the most obvious applications for batteries. But making the technology at once portable, affordable and with sufficient energy density has been a challenge.

Details: Tamarack Global, a two-person VC based in Connecticut, led the round. The firm was one of Moxion's earliest investors.

• The Amazon Climate Pledge Fund and the Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund joined as new investors, along with Enterprise Holdings, Marubeni Ventures and Suffolk Technologies.
• Energy Impact Partners, another of Moxion's early investors, also participated.

What's happening: Moxion has set out to "create the first fully electric alternative to the generator," co-founder and CEO Paul Huelskamp tells Axios.

• "Our beachhead markets: Construction, film production, and events and entertainment," he says.
• The company has also inked a multiyear purchase agreement with Sunbelt Rentals, the South Carolina company that leases construction equipment.

Context: Diesel generators are large sources of pollution, emitting not only greenhouse gases but also particulate emissions that can harm health.

What's next: Moxion is opening two manufacturing centers near its headquarters in California. It's opening a retail location in Hollywood and plans more retail locations.

• The company scored a hiring coup in February when it tapped Josh Ensign to oversee manufacturing as COO. Ensign had previously supervised manufacturing for Tesla and Proterra.