Meine Electric raises ₹6.7 crore Pre-Seed funding to develop Iron-Air battery technology

Meine Electric, a deep-tech startup working on iron-air long-duration energy storage (LDES) systems, has raised $750,000 (approximately ₹6.7 crore) in a pre-seed funding round. The investment was led by Antler, Rebalance, and Venture Catalysts, with participation from gradCapital, AIC-AU Incubation Foundation (hosted by Anna University), and angel investors including Alexander Hogeveen Rutter.

According to the company, the funding will support the transition from laboratory-scale prototypes to pilot-ready iron-air battery systems, including the development of a multi-kilowatt grid-connected prototype and subsequent pilot units. The capital will also be used to expand the team, strengthen research infrastructure, and engage with independent power producers and commercial and industrial customers for pilot deployments, with plans to deliver containerised iron-air battery systems by 2027.

Founded in 2023 by Priyansh Mohan and Stuti Kakkar, Meine Electric is developing iron-air batteries for long-duration energy storage. The company states that its technology targets a levelised cost of storage below $0.05/kWh (around ₹4/kWh). Iron-air batteries use iron, air, and water as primary materials and operate through a reversible oxidation process, in which iron reacts with oxygen to release electricity during discharge and is regenerated during charging.

Meine Electric operates a 5,000 sq ft facility in Chennai that is being prepared for pilot-scale production. The team reports having spent the past three years developing and stabilising the core iron-air chemistry. The company states that its system is capable of faster charge and discharge cycles compared to some global iron-air battery developments, enabling integration with solar-dominated power systems.

As per the company, while lithium-ion batteries are typically used for short-duration energy storage, Meine Electric’s iron-air battery is designed for 16–24 hours of storage and can be fully charged within approximately eight hours. The company states that this charging duration aligns with periods of surplus solar generation, enabling round-the-clock renewable energy supply.

The company reports holding four granted patents and having filed seven international patents related to its iron-air battery technology, with performance benchmarks validated against international references. Meine Electric was recognised by the Government of India during the 10th anniversary of the Startup India initiative and has received industry recognitions, including the National Startup Award 2026 and the Nasscom Emerge 50 Award.

Meine Electric states that its long-term objective is to scale grid-level iron-air battery deployments and achieve $1 billion in revenue by 2032.

“India will win the energy transition when clean power becomes dispatchable, not intermittent. Our focus for the last three years has been to make iron-air chemistry stable and repeatable. Now we are proving it for the grid and C&I power requirements, building the evidence that iron-air storage can become a backbone asset for the world’s renewable-first future,” said Priyansh Mohan, Co-Founder and CEO, Meine Electric, commenting on the company’s roadmap.

“Lithium-ion has shown its capability in peaking and integrating renewables over short duration. However, as renewable penetration rises above 50%, long duration energy storage is required to fully replicate the grid and system benefits of conventional generation. Having seen dozens of LDES technologies, Meine Electric is one of the strongest I have seen globally. Solutions like Meine Electric’s are already required for off-grid and replacing diesel gensets and will increasingly be required at the grid scale as renewable penetration continues to increase.” said Alexander Hogeveen Rutter, Third Derivative.

“What impressed us about Meine Electric is the depth of their electrochemical research  paired with system-level execution –  a team that has spent years turning a hard science problem into a repeatable, grid-ready solution. At Antler, we back founders building foundational infrastructure for the future, and we believe Meine can become a globally relevant platform for renewable-first power systems.” said Gowri Shankar Nagarajan, Associate Partner at Antler

“When we think about energy, generation usually takes centre stage – but true energy security demands storage. We’re all well aware how rapidly the world order is shifting and energy will become the single most powerful asset for any economy in the future. Thrilled to be part of Meine’s journey as they become critical enablers of renewable-heavy power grids,” said Aishwarya Malhi and Vikas Kumar, Co-founders at Rebalance.

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