Moment Energy begins full-scale production of second-life battery systems in Vancouver

Canadian battery storage startup Moment Energy has begun full-scale manufacturing at its Metro Vancouver facility, producing modular battery energy storage systems (BESS) built from retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Its flagship product, the Luna BESS, is now being deployed to meet over 5.6 GWh of commercial and industrial storage demand across North America.

The Luna system scales up to 10 MWh and targets mid-sized applications such as hospitals, airports, farms, data centers, and factories. Moment says the system can cut electricity demand charges by up to 50% while also providing backup power during grid outages.

Moment uses second-life batteries from partners including Nissan and Mercedes-Benz. These modules, often retired from EVs despite retaining up to 80% of their capacity, are tested and repurposed at the company’s UL 1974-certified facility, which it claims is the first of its kind in North America operating at scale. The annual production capacity of the new Vancouver facility has not been disclosed, though press releases have indicated “gigawatt-hour scale” without further information. The company did say it has access to more than 8GWh of batteries it can use, without qualifying this information.

“We test the batteries using cyclers and other technologies to ensure they’re safe and reliable,” Moment CPO and co-founder Gurmesh Sidhu recently told ESS News. Each module is assessed and integrated into racks managed by a proprietary battery management system. The result is structurally and functionally similar to traditional BESS units.

Moment’s current systems typically range from 400 kWh to 5 MWh. A larger system is in development with Hydro Ottawa. The company is also expanding into the US, with a new factory in Taylor, Texas, supported by $15 million in Series A funding and a $20.3 million U.S. Department of Energy grant.

Local policy incentives are supporting adoption. British Columbia’s Energy Storage Incentive Program, for example, can cover up to 90% of project costs for eligible businesses. Similar schemes across North America are helping drive demand for storage systems.

While the Luna BESS enters a competitive market, Moment, which was founded in 2020, is targeting mid-sized projects with its domestically produced option. “There’s this gap in the middle that we’re targeting,” Sidhu said. “It’s a lot less crowded, so it’s an interesting space to focus on.”

“North America is seeing a major upswing in demand for battery energy storage, especially from commercial and industrial users,” said Sidhu.