A stealthy energy-storage solutions firm is raising money – and a familiar name is at the helm.
Sidney Hinton, the retired CEO of Wake Forest-based PowerSecure, just raised $2 million in equity for his new startup, Raleigh-based Utility Innovation Holdings.
But little information is available on the company. Securities disclosures show a single, unidentified investor participated in the raise. Without being too specific on details, Hinton said the firm has a bright future ahead.
He declined to detail the firm’s current lineup of customers, saying only that they include utilities and Fortune 500 firms. He also declined to give specifics about headcount or revenue, answering, “We’ve been blessed.”
The company is centered around the basic needs of energy storage, Hinton said, including cybersecurity for the electric grid.
“We don’t have products,” he said. “We have solutions. We engineer and design solutions. … We are focused on building a company centered around the carbon free grid of the future.”
Disclosures filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have few details on the company, but a trademark for a brand called “GridSure,” covering categories of energy storage systems, is on file with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, listing Utility Innovation Holdings as the registrant. Hinton said the firm has multiple subsidiaries.
Hinton led Wake Forest-based microgrid builder PowerSecure through its 2016 buyout by Southern Company, a $431 million deal. The buyout valued his personal stake in the company at the time at more than $11 million.
Hinton retired three years ago from PowerSecure, and started his new venture about nine months ago, he said. But Hinton’s history in the energy space goes back decades.
Prior to his tenure at PowerSecure, he had roles at Progress Energy, IllumElex Lighting, Southern Company and Georgia Power Company.
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