Battery storage project proposed in Saugus. Elizabeth Della Piana SAUGUS - Flatiron Energy, which develops and operates utility-scale energy storage projects, appeared before the Planning Board Thursday night to discuss a proposed battery storage project known as Blacksmith Storage at 1 Rear Pennsylvania Ave. Before Project Manager Hannah Larkin reviewed the scope of the project, Town Counsel Jesse Schomer raised the Dover Amendment, which exempts certain "high-priority" land uses from some forms of local regulation. Religious and educational uses of land are among those protected under the Dover Amendment, according to Mass.gov. "Over the years, the Dover Amendment has been amended a number of times to add new uses. A very recent one was the inclusion of accessory dwelling units... One of them is also solar-related uses. So the contention of the applicant is that the use that they're proposing and that they'll present tonight is covered by the Dover Amendment," Schomer said. Board member Bob Long asked whether the town would retain control over water and roadways, which Schomer confirmed. "You're allowed to impose requirements to the extent they're reasonable as long as it doesn't nullify the allowed use," he said. Larkin said that Flatiron Energy focuses exclusively on standalone battery storage and does not develop energy-generation assets. "Battery storage is a key solution to modernizing our electric grid, and solving challenges that I'll get into... with reserve adequacy, with aging infrastructure, and meeting capacity needs," Larkin said, adding that because standalone projects can fit into smaller spaces, they can help address challenges facing grid operators. Flatiron Energy is also working on Revolution, a battery storage project in Revere near the Saugus line at the Caddy Farm property. Larkin said the company focuses on community-centered development. "The whole nation is experiencing challenges with aging grid infrastructure, and that infrastructure is reaching the end of its useful life," she said. "We also are experiencing challenges associated with demand rising." Larkin said electricity demand is increasing significantly, driven in part by population growth and data centers. "Battery storage can address these challenges while improving reliability and keeping costs down. What's really exciting about battery storage is it can actually offer those services in the balancing services that are so essential to the proper functioning of the electric grid in seconds," she said. By comparison, peaking power plants can take up to 15 minutes to provide power, she said. Larkin described the facility as a large, rechargeable battery that stores electricity and releases it when needed. Stored power could be discharged back into the grid when electricity demand peaks, when generation drops, or when needed to stabilize the overall flow of power. Larkin said the facility would use lithium iron phosphate batteries, which she said are safer than some alternatives and do not contain heavy metals. The facility would be fenced and monitored around the clock. Larkin said the state has set a goal of procuring 10,000 megawatts, or 10 gigawatts, of battery storage by 2035. "This is to both meet carbon reduction goals and energy affordability goals," she said. "Right now in Massachusetts there's over 6,000 grid-connected battery storage systems." Board Chair John O'Brien asked how the project would benefit the general public, and Larkin said battery storage could help lower electricity bills. "What we do is we participate on the wholesale market, and we're able, with our batteries, to suppress prices on the wholesale market where your retailer is then buying power," she said, adding that battery storage can also reduce transmission fees. Vice Chair Jeannie Meredith asked how many other communities Flatiron Energy is currently working in, and Larkin said the company is constructing projects in Uxbridge and Chelsea, with others in various stages of development and permitting. Meredith pointed out that Flatiron does not currently have any operating facilities in the state. Larkin responded that the founders of Flatiron previously worked for ENGIE, which developed more than 20 projects in Massachusetts. The proposed Saugus site would be accessible through Lynnfield and would also border Wakefield. Because Saugus would be the host community, Flatiron chose to discuss the project with Saugus officials before meeting with Lynnfield and Wakefield. "This is a 225-megawatt project. Roughly, that's enough energy to power over 40,000 homes. I believe it's actually closer to 50,000," Larkin said. "The limit of work or impact area is roughly 12 acres." Larkin said construction is expected to take about 16 months and that the completed facility would generate little traffic and would not be staffed on-site. Board members also raised questions about fire safety and emergency response. Larkin said the Saugus Fire Department would receive training from Flatiron and third parties. Saugus Fire Department Training Officer Cory Rutledge attended the meeting on behalf of the department and said he had already spoken with Flatiron Director of Fire Protection and Safety Chris Groves. O'Brien asked whether the battery containers were fire-resistant, and Larkin said they were. Board member Phillip Rando asked how much noise the facility would generate. Larkin said the project would comply with both local and state noise requirements. Larkin said the project would be more than 1,000 feet from abutting properties and would face limited environmental constraints because the site is already developed. She added that the location is also near areas of electricity demand. When asked about the timeline for the Revere project, Larkin said it is following a similar timeline as the proposed Saugus project and that the company could hold a separate meeting to discuss it. The board also asked whether the Lynnfield Fire Department, which is near the property, would have the opportunity to participate in training. Larkin said it would. Rutledge added that the Saugus Fire Department has already been invited to training for the Revere project because Saugus abuts that site. Long asked about the size of the containers. Larkin said each would be approximately 14 feet tall, 8 feet wide and 24 feet long, with 136 containers planned for the site. The board also raised questions about the electrical components of the storage units and potential environmental impacts. Larkin said Flatiron could provide written responses with assistance from Groves. After the presentation, the board voted to continue the hearing to Nov. 4 and contact Tetra Tech for a peer review. The board will also schedule a site visit.

M&A: Flatiron Energy launches sales process. *This story was originally published exclusively for NPM subscribers. New Project Media (NPM) is a leading market intelligence & data platform covering US & European power, renewables & data markets and serving the development, finance, advisory & corporate community. Click here to schedule a demo or learn more. * Platform has at least two projects awaiting clearance on NYSERDA's ISC solicitation * Taft project in Worcester, MA expected to commercialize later this year Flatiron Energy formally launched a sales process, said the sources familiar with the situation. Teasers for the process, known as Project Westfold, were recently distributed to the market. Overall, NPM Interconnection queue data is tracking at least seven pre-operational projects, at just over 1.9 GW, across PJM, ISO-NE and NYISO. The pipeline, behind that, is also all in the Northeast. The company engaged Guggenheim Securities earlier this year to explore capital markets solutions. Flatiron both secured a strategic investment from Hull Street Energy in July 2024, while securing a follow-on commitment from Hull Street in October 2025 and also upsizing its existing credit facility to USD 250m with HPS Investment Partners. Hull Street, Flatiron Energy, and Guggenheim did not return calls seeking comment. The company's most advanced project has been the 200 MW / 800 MWh Taft project in Worcester County, Massachusetts that closed project financing September 2025 and is slated to commercialize later this year. NPM SIGNALS, though, has also detected multiple bids that Flatiron has submitted into New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) inaugural Index Storage Credit solicitation that is expected to be resolved soon as NYSERDA had been expected to announce contract awards during 2Q26. Flatiron disclosed that its 123 MW / 492 MWh Battery Park Storage project in Kings County, New York and 123 MW / 492 MWh Palladium Storage project in Bronx County, New York were both vying for the ISC. Trusted by 450+ companies including. New Project Media (NPM) is a leading data, intelligence, and events company providing business development led coverage across the US & European power and data center markets. NPM serves 450+ global development, investment, finance, advisory and corporate customers. Company. Contact info. US Address: New Project Media (NPM) 300 Witherspoon Street, Suite 201 Princeton, NJ 08542 EUR Address: New Project Media (NPM) 217 Strand London, WC2R 1AT United Kingdom IND Address: NPM Research Pvt. Ltd One International Center, 25th Floor Tower 2, Senapati Bapat Marg Prabhadevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra - 400 013 Join e-mail list. Keep up to date with free recent NPM articles, industry podcasts, event updates, and product developments Customer Support: Commercial Inquiries:

Top 3 SPAC Targets - battery makers. After a quiet stretch in the SPAC market, we pressed pause on this column. But with deal flow picking up, targets getting more creative, and sponsors back in hunting mode, it's the right time to bring back one of our favorites: the Top 3 SPAC Targets. Read on to see who we picked for private targets among cutting-edge battery manufacturers. SPACInsider has used this series in recent weeks to look at a number of ways that SPACs can play a role in boosting companies that are increasing in prominence due to the stresses foisted on the market by the Iran war. Earlier focuses in this vein were on agriculture and alternative fuels targets, and oil shortages have the chance to put more wind in the sails of companies electrifiying the energy chain with new battery designs as well. For Kensington IV target Amprius (NYSE:AMPX), the year started off with a management shuffle that brought in a brand new CEO, but it has since nearly doubled its stock price to $14.72. The company's EBITDA margins have been very tight, but with its rising book of orders for EV batteries, it could still see more upside ahead. For the US to continue to meet its own supply goals and keep up, it may need steadily more companies to step up. SK On. SK On is a company that is both stepping up and into the US, as the South Korea-based battery manufacturer has been signing agreements with clients to make a major market entry into the country over the past year. In September, it agreed to provide up to 7.2 GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) for Flatiron Energy Development, which is itself working to develop a series of utility-scale BESS projects predominately in New England. It is also working with fellow South Korean battery maker L&F to boost its own supply chain of cathode materials to be able to meet the demands of the North American market. On the EV side, SK On has agreed to provide about 100GWh-worth of batteries to automaker Nissan (TYO:7201), to be put in the next round if its electric vehicles to be produced at its Canton, Mississippi assembly plant. The company hasn't shared how much revenue it expects to stir up through this North American work, but it already claimed about 13 trillion won ($8 billion) worth of total revenue as of the end of 2023. The company has also been busy with other internal restructuring work to make it ready to fully seize the opportunity in the US. Its parent company is SK Group, one of the largest conglomerates in South Korea, and early last year SK On merged with two sister subsidiaries SK Enterm and SK Trading International in moves that were expected to add 500 billion SK won ($33 million) in annual EBITDA to its books. SK Group has been open about the idea that SK On could be its first publicly listed wing, but, as of 2024, the parent company was continuing to put off SK On's IPO to a 2028 window. If the company were to want to solidify its presence and liquidity in the US market but is concerned with whether it could get an IPO roadshow through a reasonable timeframe, a SPAC could provide that certainty. Sonnen. Sonnen is also a division of a much larger entity, but it has maintained the DNA of an independent technology firm. It provides residential, commercial and utility-scale BESS systems, designed to allow individual consumers and businesses to lower their bills by storing their own solar power on site and even sell some back to the grid. Through its partner Solarite, it has begun offering these systems in Texas for $20 per month with no installation costs for the batteries. As of February, 3,000 customers had already enrolled in the program in the state, presenting about 600 MWh in total storage capacity and the company plans to more than triple that before the end of the year. It has similar programs rolling out for New England, California and Puerto Rico. Back in 2019, Sonnen was bought out by Dutch oil producer Shell (NYSE:SHEL) at a time when it was primarily focused on the German energy market. Today, the rationale for its parent to float a portion of its position in Sonnen is similar to that of SK Group - gain liquidity and potentially a higher trading price for Sonnen standing on its own rather than part of a much larger more diversified energy group. Shell has also been trimming some of its renewable portfolio of late. It sold stakes in US wind and solar projects in 2023 and was reported at one point to be looking to divest about one quarter of its solar and storage assets. At the time, it was reportedly seeking to put more focus into increasing its oil output amid high commodity prices - a situation that has only intensified since Form Energy. For Form Energy, the big rush in demand for its iron-air batteries looks secure even if the Middle East were to suddenly calm down. Last week, it signed an agreement to provide 12 GWh of BESS systems to AI data center firm Crusoe, adding to an order backlog that has already grown to 75 GWh. It has recently added its first international deployment to the books with a site in Ireland and is seeing its unique technology quickly come to the forefront. Form's iron-air batteries run on a reversible rusting principles that allow for much longer charges across multiple days as opposed to lithium-ion batteries whose full-charge length is typically measured in the hours. The materials for Form's batteries are also not under supply pressures like lithium. Its principal components are all made out of iron, water and air. The company is also far more ready for primetime than the bulk of the battery makers that went public via SPACs during the 2020-2021 rush. It already completed construction of its 550,000 square-foot battery factory in 2024, and has plenty of commercial business lined up. So, it is unlikely to fall under the same cash crunches that some of its de-SPAC predecessors did. But, it does have an investor base that is likely eager for a major capital move that would give it liquidity. Form Energy's buildout has been funded by $1.2 billion in private capital raises from technology investors dating back to its founding in 2017, the most recent being a $405 million Series F led by T. Rowe Price in 2024. T. Rowe Price might be willing to hop into a PIPE for the firm as it has for 12 other SPAC deals through the years. And, while many other of Form Energy's investors may want to stay long like European industrial Group ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT), the company has also had a fair amount of venture money locked into its cap table that likely wouldn't mind moving on to the next big idea.