Base Power launches 39.2-kWh US-made battery

Base Power said on Wednesday it launched Base Core, a 39.2-kilowatt-hour residential battery manufactured at the company’s factory in Austin, Texas. The company said the unit is designed for whole-home backup, can be installed in under an hour and is now available to customers in Texas and Illinois. Energy-Storage.news reported the launch came alongside a $1 billion Series D financing round that valued the company at $13 billion post-money. The launch adds a larger-format battery to a U.S. home storage market where many products are smaller and often assembled abroad. Energy-Storage.news said Base Core’s 39.2-kWh capacity is more than double the 13.5-kWh capacity of Tesla’s Powerwall 3. Base markets the product as part of a bundled retail electricity and backup-power offering rather than a one-time hardware sale. (ess-news.com) ### How big is this battery, in practical terms? Base says a single Base Core unit provides 39.2 kWh of storage and can deliver about 12 to 36 hours of backup depending on household electricity use. On its website, the company says backup typically takes over in under half a second when the grid goes down, though runtime depends on load and the home must be using less than 20 kilowatts for the battery to turn on automatically. (energy-storage.news) ESS News reported the battery is also offered in a 78.4-kWh configuration, effectively a doubled system for customers who want more stored energy. Base’s specifications page lists Base Core separately from its earlier 25-kWh and 50-kWh systems, indicating the company is broadening its hardware lineup as it scales. ### What exactly is Base selling to homeowners? (basepowercompany.com) Base’s website says the company installs the battery for $695 in some service territories and charges a $19 monthly membership fee, while advertising an all-in electricity rate in certain Texas areas. The company says it “earn[s] from the grid, not you,” describing a model in which customer batteries help balance electricity demand during peak periods. (ess-news.com) That structure differs from the standard home-battery purchase model, where customers usually buy hardware upfront and then separately pay for installation and utility service. Base’s duration calculator says comparable generator systems can cost about $12,000 to $20,000 and require fuel and maintenance, while its battery system is pitched as a lower-upfront-cost backup option. (basepowercompany.com) ### Why does the Texas factory matter? PV Magazine USA reported Base is producing thousands of systems a month at its Austin manufacturing plant. ESS News and Solar Power World both said the new battery is built in Austin, with Solar Power World describing Base Core as a lithium-iron-phosphate battery system with a 12-year lifetime. (basepowercompany.com) The U.S. manufacturing claim is central to Base’s pitch as it expands in states with rising demand for backup power. The company’s product pages say the battery operates in temperatures from minus 22 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, a specification aimed at homes facing heat and cold extremes. ### How does the new funding fit into the rollout? (pv-magazine-usa.com) Energy-Storage.news reported Base closed a $1 billion Series D financing round at a $13 billion post-money valuation at the same time it launched Base Core. TechCrunch reported the company has been installing about 100 batteries a day and hopes to double that by the end of 2026, citing The Wall Street Journal. (msn.com) Base said the battery is available now in Texas and Illinois, and PV Magazine USA reported the new capital will support further expansion. The next test for the company is whether it can scale production from Austin while adding customers beyond its current state footprint. (pv-magazine-usa.com) (energy-storage.news)