A newly established joint venture is set to bring a new battery energy storage system manufacturing platform to the American South. Energy storage company NeoVolta announced its collaboration with BESS manufacturer PotisEdge and its majority owner, renewable energy giant LONGi to form NeoVolta Power, LLC.
The move represents NeoVolta’s first foray into domestic manufacturing and its expansion into utility-scale and commercial energy storage markets.
“I don’t see our move as a pivot, but rather a response to market needs and policy requirements,” said NeoVolta CEO Ardes Johnson. He told pv magazine USA that the policy changes of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) have created a “window of opportunity” to partner with manufacturing market leaders. “This move wasn’t about leaving residential behind.”
The facility, which will be based in Pendergrass, Georgia, and will support approximately 89 production personnel, is expected to begin mass production later this year with an initial production capacity of 2 GWh annually that’s scalable up to 8 GWh. Situated along the I-85 corridor, production will initially focus on prismatic-cell battery pack assembly and DC container integration for utility-scale applications.
“The Georgia facility is the beginning,” Johnson said, though NeoVolta’s goal is to keep growing once they have “demand, contracted backlog and the financing and policy environment [to] make the economics work.”
He expects part of that demand to arrive on NeoVolta’s doorstep due to the updated foreign entity of concern (FEOC) guidelines under the OBBBA, particularly as the company has structured their facility, partnerships and procurement structures around domestic content compliance. Initial funding for the joint venture comes in part from a $13 million private placement given to NeoVolta by Infinite Grid Capital. However, project-level debt financing and incentive monetization will provide long-term funding and enable manufacturing expansion.
“We want to avoid the classic over-capitalization for expanded manufacturing, only to have that equity sit in the form of inventory,” Johnson explained, noting that the company is being “very disciplined” in its approach.
60% of the joint venture will be held by NeoVolta, whose role will focus on product strategy, commercialization and customer engagement. PotisEdge, which owns 20% of NeoVolta Power, LLC., will bring its large-scale BESS manufacturing and production expertise. The final 20% will be split among a group of strategic investors that will provide technical and operational advising.
“Scaling at this level is really about certification, safety testing, software integration, quality control and financing confidence,” Johnson pointed out. “That’s why our partnership with PotisEdge and LONGi is so important.”
“These are teams that have built and ramped some of the world’s largest manufacturing lines,” he added.
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