Volt Harbor Raises $2M in Seed Funding Led by MFV Partners

The company plans to use the funds to speed up its move from pilot programs to full commercial deployment in both areas.

Unlike traditional battery energy storage systems (BESS), MAC-BESS™ uses software-based technology inspired by computer networking systems. This allows battery modules from different manufacturers and battery chemistries to work together and manage power flow in real time.

Volt Harbor combines battery storage, advanced power electronics, and onboard computing into a modular system based on six patents licensed from University of Michigan. The technology can use new battery cells for high-reliability data center applications or reused electric vehicle batteries for lower-cost commercial, industrial, and utility-scale energy storage projects.

Demand for large-scale energy storage is growing quickly as electrification increases, and AI driven data center construction expands. However, traditional data center power systems were not designed for today’s energy demands.

MAC-BESS™ uses a unified, software-defined system that combines battery storage, power conversion, and switching into one platform. This reduces the need for multiple vendors and separate systems, helping data center operators simplify installation, reduce integration challenges, and lower maintenance complexity.

Volt Harbor designed its system for the high reliability and performance needed in data centers. It can deliver energy in less than 100 microseconds, helping prevent disruptions caused by power or grid fluctuations.

The system is built with extremely low failure rates similar to those used in spacecraft and commercial aviation. It also avoids single points of failure and can be quickly customized for different site requirements.

Electric vehicle batteries usually still keep about 80% of their original capacity after they are no longer used in cars. Today many of these retired batteries are immediately recycled, where valuable minerals like lithium are recovered while other materials are burned or discarded.

MAC-BESS™ gives these batteries a second life in stationary energy storage systems. This helps provide lower-cost energy storage, reduces the need to manufacture new batteries, and lowers related emissions.

Volt Harbor was previously selected as one of six recipients of the 2025 DTE Energy Emerging Technology Fund. Through its partnership with DTE Energy, Michigan’s largest utility company, Volt Harbor is deploying a MAC-BESS™ system on the DTE power grid. The system is designed to support high-power EV charging when local grid capacity is limited, while also helping with demand response, peak energy management, and backup power support.

"These projects show what's possible when public, and private partners work together to reimagine mobility for everyone," said Yvette Johnson, Vice President of Electric Sales & Marketing at DTE Energy.

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"Energy storage and power electronics have always been treated as separate boxes. We've integrated them, along with on-board computing, into a single, software-defined product class," said Dr. Al-Thaddeus Avestruz, President, CEO, and co-founder of Volt Harbor, and a former professor at the University of Michigan, where the company licensed its core technology. "That combination is where the real performance, reliability, and cost advantages come from, and what data center and grid operators are looking for as they look to access more reliable power on a faster time scale."

"Software systems, not hardware alone will define the next generation of grid-scale and data center storage," said Karthee Madasamy, Managing Partner of MFV Partners. "Volt Harbor's architecture is one of the few we've seen that genuinely meets that bar, and the team is going after the opportunity at exactly the right moment. Millions of EV batteries are about to reach the end of their automotive life, and Volt Harbor's platform is well positioned to put them back to work at a cost point new-build systems can't match."

About Volt Harbor

Founded by Al Avestruz and based in Ann Arbor, Volt Harbor develops modular, software-based energy storage systems that combine batteries, advanced power electronics and onboard computing into one platform. Its patented MAC-BESS™ technology supports both new and reused batteries for data centers, commercial, industrial and utility-scale energy storage applications.

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