January 2022

Fortress Power is a Leading Designer and Manufacturer of Battery Energy Storage Systems

January 10, 2022

White Deer, a private equity firm that invests in products and services businesses in the energy, industrials, and infrastructure end markets, has invested in Fortress Power, LLC (“Fortress” or the “Company”). Fortress is a designer and manufacturer of battery energy storage systems that capture and store solar and grid power for homeowners and businesses.

White Deer was joined in its investment by MB Energy Partners, a venture and growth-stage investor focused on the energy transition.

“As grid resiliency and distributed generation become increasingly critical to power grids around the world, we believe that Fortress’s unique offerings position the Company to be a major contributor to these emerging trends while helping enable increased adoption of renewable energy,” said Varun Babbili, managing director of White Deer. “This investment highlights one of White Deer’s core strategies, which is to invest in companies that facilitate the energy transition or enable the decarbonization of traditional energy industries. We look forward to partnering with Fortress’s talented leadership team to continue to build on the Company’s success to date.”

John Bishop, Managing Partner of MB Energy Partners, added “Fortress’s outstanding leadership team, market-focused approach to technology development, and differentiated product offerings and service quality stand out in the rapidly evolving energy storage industry.”

Fortress is a leader in large-capacity battery energy storage systems, having sold over 20,000 battery energy storage systems since its founding. By offering larger system capacities, Fortress’s integrated systems are easy to install and deliver comprehensive whole-home backup solutions, unlocking cost savings and minimizing grid disruptions for customers. The Company utilizes LFP battery cells to ensure enhanced product safety and longevity. Fortress is dedicated to supporting its installer and distributor partners through both its product design and technical support tools, ensuring seamless customer outcomes and cost-efficient installations.

“Fortress is committed to providing superior battery energy storage solutions to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Our systems are designed to be safer and easier to use for both end customers and our installer partners,” said Jing Yu, Founder and CEO of Fortress. “By partnering with White Deer and MB Energy Partners, Fortress is positioned to further accelerate its growth, starting with several new products we look forward to announcing in 2022. This partnership will also allow the Company to penetrate new markets and significantly expand our highly talented team.”

About Fortress (https://www.fortresspower.com/):

Headquartered in Southampton, PA, Fortress is a leading global designer and manufacturer of battery energy storage systems for residential, commercial, and industrial customers. The Company has operations across North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and Asia. In addition to its award-winning local live technical support, Fortress has partnered with industry leading lending institutions to help make investment in solar and storage as easy as possible.

About White Deer (https://whitedeerenergy.com/):

White Deer is a private equity firm that invests in products and services businesses in the energy, industrials, and infrastructure end markets. One of White Deer’s core strategies is to invest in companies that facilitate the energy transition or enable the decarbonization of traditional energy industries. The firm relies on a thematic, research-based investment approach and deep industry knowledge to create sustained value for its companies, investment partners, and employees. The firm, which is based in Houston and New York, has raised in excess of $2.7 billion of committed capital since its founding in 2008.

About MB Energy Partners (https://mbenergypartners.com/):

MB Energy Partners invests in companies that provide supporting services, products, and technologies (i.e. “picks and shovels”) which enable the energy transition.  The firm’s approach is to analyze the value chains of new energy sectors, identify gaps and opportunities for outsized growth, and then invest alongside great management teams and partners. The firm is based in Houston and invests globally.

 

Contact:
Jing Yu
Chief Executive Officer, Fortress Power
jing[email protected]

Varun Babbili
Managing Director, White Deer
[email protected]

John Bishop
Managing Partner, MB Energy Partners
[email protected]

Product Highlight: eVault MAX Configuration Notes

Since the release of our new flagship eVault Max battery, we have made a few changes to the product setup and commissioning process that aren’t covered in the printed user manual which ships with the Max. To aid our installers in the field and simplify the process we have updated our Inverter Guides and produced a Quick Start Guide to help you when commissioning single or multi-battery systems from scratch. Some of the key points to look out for are as follows:

Protocol ID and Battery Numbering is found in the Quickstart Guide.
The printed manual that came with the Max had some misprints that stated incorrect numbering for closed loop communication protocols, as well as the numbering scheme for single or multi-battery systems. Out of the box the eVault Max comes set to Battery ID 2, this is for safety should the button get pressed during transit. Once you remove the battery from the crate you will need to change this to 0 for the battery to turn on and be tested. For installs with a single battery the Battery ID should remain at 0, for installs greater than one, the numbering scheme is 1, 2, 3,…N, with 1 being the master battery. 

In addition, the Protocol ID, used when communicating with different inverters in a closed loop configuration, is not accurate as printed in the manual, instead please refer to the new manual on the website (which is always the most up-to-date), or contained within the Quickstart Guide. For our most popular inverter pairing, Sol-Ark, customers must set the Protocol ID to 1, this is a different protocol than Protocol ID 5, despite the wording in the manual.

Check your cables
Getting closed loop working between battery and inverter requires a custom crimped CAT5/6 cable, this can be made in a variety of ways, including crimping your own cables with feed-through RJ45 connectors and CAT5/6 cable, using a male ethernet keystone, or by purchasing a pre-made cable from our webstore (also available via Northern Arizona Wind & Sun) while only 5ft these pre-made cables are extendible by using a standard RJ45 coupler. Details on which conductors need to land on which pins can be found by going to our Inverter Guides page under the Dealers section of our website. Going forward, we will be including a 5ft Sol-Ark communication cable in the box with new eVault Max’s. You will still need to make a cable for other inverter brands such as Schneider, Victron, and SMA.

Tips for Success
In a fast changing world getting the right information increasingly takes more effort, while we do include a printed manual with all of our products we highly recommend visiting our website for the most updated version of our product manuals and Inverter Guides as a lot can change during the long lead time from production to delivery. At Fortress, we put a lot of effort into keeping these current, as inverter manufacturers change product features or we discover new inverter-specific commissioning tips and settings. As such, we do not recommend relying on outside guides (such as from an inverter maker) for battery configuration specifics or or using generic “LFP” or “Lithium” settings that may come pre-programmed with certain inverters.