NM Tech Startup GridFlow wins regional pitch competition

It’s off to San Francisco for New Mexico startup GridFlow, for a chance to win a $1 million investment prize in the Startup World Cup contest.

GridFlow is an early-stage startup company developing lithium-sulfur flow battery technology licensed from Sandia National Laboratories. The company earlier this month won the New Mexico Startup World Cup pitch competition.

It’s part of the Startup World Cup, a global contest with winners from regional competitions. New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Center hosted New Mexico’s regional event Sept. 4-5.

Out of 10 companies, GridFlow came out on top after the six-minute pitch presentations. Now, the company will go to the Startup World Cup in San Francisco in early October to compete against other startups for an opportunity to win $1 million.

GridFlow CEO Chuck Call said it’s an incredible opportunity to compete among “the best, most exciting startups in the world.” Win or lose, he said, GridFlow will get global exposure.

“So it’s sort of impossible to lose,” Call said.

Call created GridFlow in July after obtaining a license agreement with Sandia National Labs. He said last fall he went through a program called Boost, which connects startups, labs and academics to solve energy issues, particularly in underserved communities, with technology from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The battery technology GridFlow is developing is a way to address growing energy demands that are straining the nation’s aging power grid. It’s a home battery, operating off the grid.

GridFlow hopes to launch its product around 2026, according to the company’s pitch deck.

Call said Sandia Labs, which has been developing the battery tech for four years, is very supportive of GridFlow.

“If we succeed, Sandia succeeds, DOE succeeds and the community succeeds,” Call said, “so just super excited about the broader impact of what this opportunity can mean for our community and for ourselves.”

Before focusing on battery technology, Call was immersed in the water industry. He launched Integrated Offgrid LLC a year ago, a company aiming to make water from air using renewable energy, mainly for people off the grid.

He switched gears to fully focus on battery technology with GridFlow because of the significant national focus on energy right now.

“The market for batteries is extraordinary,” he said. “It’s big.”

With 80 million detached homes in the U.S. alone and energy systems costing $10,000-20,000, Call said, “we’re talking about a trillion dollars of opportunity.”

“We have this potentially disruptive, breakthrough technology,” he said, “if we can get this product to market.”