Amit Gudka left Bulb to set up Field, eight years after he helped found the energy supplier. Image: Field.
Field has secured a pipeline of 160MW of battery storage sites in the UK, and begun construction of the first of these, the 20MW Oldham site.
The company – originally called Virmati Energy – was launched at the beginning of 2021 by Bulb co-founder Amit Gudka. In its first six months it has raised £10 million in pre-seed capital and Series A funding, and is set to run Series B in September.
It will finance, build and operate the sites within its pipeline itself, utilising an agile operation strategy that has lower overheads according to Field, as well as a much more comprehensive view of the energy market than traditional infrastructure businesses.
Oldham is due to go live in April 2022, with its next site – Field Gerrards Cross – to follow shortly after in August of next year. Field is planning to get its current 160MW pipeline in operation by Q1 2023, and expand this to 1.3GW by 2024. It is already in advanced discussions for a further 330MW of battery storage projects.
“Tackling the climate crisis requires belief that large systemic changes can be made, with the determination to make them happen fast,” said Gudka, founder of Field. “The pipeline and the funding we’ve secured over the last few months, with the team we’ve built, shows it’s possible to move fast to make the changes we need to reach net zero.”
Early investors in Field have included Wise founder Taavet Hinrikus, Songkick founder Ian Hogarth, Allplants’ Jonathan Petrides, Mixcloud’s Nikhil Shah and Giant Ventures – as well as leading energy traders Phil Sutterby and Richard Henson. The company has a specific goal to algin capital wealth with action on climate change.
“I’m really excited about the progress we’re making, and the opportunity to show there’s a better way to invest, which redirects capital towards the assets needed to accelerate the renewable transition,” added Gudka.
Since the beginning of the year, Field has grown its team to include Stephen White (previously at Community Fibre and the Ministry of Justice), Luke Gibson (Glovo, Fidelity), Charlotte Nathan (Bulb, H+K Strategies), Simon Williamson (Kiwi Power, Aurora Energy Research) and Chris Wickins (Welsh Power, DECC).
In April, Solar Power Portal caught up with Gudka to discuss his move into the battery storage space and the revenue stacks Field would be targeting.