Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) has participated in a funding round for Redwood Materials, a privately held company that produces metals for energy storage batteries, manufactures key components for them, and deploys solutions critical for keeping data centers and electric grids operational.
The U.S. tech giant joined the Series E funding round for Redwood as a new investor, alongside existing investors, Capricorn and Goldman Sachs Alternatives. Redwood closed the capital raise round at $425M.
“Driven by strong demand, the increase from the previously announced $350 million reflects confidence in our long-term strategy and execution,” Redwood said in a press release on Wednesday. “This capital will accelerate our energy storage platform while continuing to strengthen our integrated recycling and critical minerals business.”
Google’s participation in the energy storage company’s funding round is an indicator of growing demand for electricity, fueled by the rapid rise of data centers that are required in the current artificial intelligence age.
In late December, Google parent Alphabet bought data center and energy infrastructure solutions company Intersect for $4.75B to bolster its computing power capabilities necessary for cloud services and AI applications.