From Watches to Wind: How Philipp Man is Reinventing Battery Storage

Ever wondered how someone can shift from trading luxury watches to changing the energy storage game? Meet Philipp Man, a former watch trader who felt the grind of selling expensive items to the wealthy. He decided to return to the energy world, this time with a focus on making a real impact on the planet. Germany, his home country, was facing challenges in managing wind and solar power, especially with the closure of nuclear power plants. The solution? Grid-scale batteries that store renewable energy for calm and cloudy days. While the industry has grown, Man believes it hasn't been set up correctly. Enter Terralayr, his startup that's like a virtual power plant. It aggregates and manages energy storage assets, similar to how Amazon Web Services (AWS) handles computing resources. Terralayr's approach is unique: it doesn't trade energy but acts more like an exchange, finding the best buyers for battery capacity.For battery owners, Terralayr charges a small fee and shares in the profits if it operates the battery more efficiently than competitors. Power providers benefit too, as they can fill gaps in their electricity output and avoid penalties for incorrect forecasts. Terralayr is starting with 7 megawatt-hours of capacity in Germany, with plans to expand to 7 gigawatts over five to ten years. The startup has raised €62 million in equity and €15 million in debt to fund this growth. While currently focused on Germany, Terralayr has its eyes on the U. S. markets, particularly California and Texas. Man sees this as a generational opportunity to revolutionize how we store and use renewable energy.