Rebaba

Second-life EV battery storage for commercial & industrial applications

Website: https://rebaba.se/

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Attribute Detail
Company Name Rebaba
Tagline Second-life EV battery storage for commercial & industrial applications [rebaba.se]
Headquarters Stockholm, Sweden
Founded 2023
Stage Pre-Seed
Business Model B2B
Industry Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology Hardware
Geography Western Europe
Growth Profile Venture Scale
Founding Team Co-Founders (2)
Funding Label Pre-seed (total disclosed ~$501,000)

Links

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Executive Summary

PUBLIC Rebaba is an early-stage Stockholm cleantech company building containerized energy storage systems from repurposed electric vehicle batteries, a bet on the circular economy that addresses both grid stability and the looming waste stream from first-generation EVs [rebaba.se]. The company’s founding in 2023 coincides with a critical inflection point in European energy policy and battery supply chains, making its proposition timely for investors focused on sustainable infrastructure. Founders Paula Runsten and Felix Kruse bring direct experience from Northvolt and Tesla, grounding the venture in the operational realities of battery production and technology [RocketReach.co]. Their product, marketed through an initial wholesale partnership with KP Energy, targets commercial and industrial customers seeking cost-effective storage to complement renewable energy sources [KP Energy, 2024].

Financing appears to be in a pre-seed phase, with a company announcement citing a 5.5 million SEK raise (approximately $501,000) though external validation of the round and its participants is limited [rebaba.se]. The business model is B2B, focusing on hardware sales and deployment of standardized container units. Over the next 12-18 months, the key signals to monitor will be the scaling of the partnership with Smartports for solar carports, the commercial traction following the KP Energy launch, and the company’s ability to secure a larger, institutionally-led funding round to finance inventory and growth.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core product and partnership claims are company-sourced; team background and funding lack full independent corroboration.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis Classification
Stage Pre-Seed
Business Model B2B
Industry / Vertical Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology Type Hardware
Geography Western Europe
Growth Profile Venture Scale
Founding Team Co-Founders (2)
Funding Pre-seed (total disclosed ~$501,000)

Company Overview

PUBLIC

Rebaba was founded in 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden, with a specific focus on extending the lifecycle of electric vehicle batteries. The company's premise is a direct response to the growing volume of EV batteries reaching their end-of-life in automotive applications, positioning itself at the intersection of circular economy principles and grid stability needs [rebaba.se].

Key milestones, based on available public records, show a focus on establishing commercial and technical partnerships. In 2024, the company's containerized product was featured in a brochure from Swedish energy wholesaler KP Energy, marking an early commercial deployment [KP Energy, 2024]. A more significant strategic move followed in October 2025, with Rebaba announcing a collaboration with Smartports to scale circular battery-powered solar carports across Europe [news.cision.com, 2025]. The company also participates in a Vinnova-funded industrial scaling project alongside established partners including Stena Recycling and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden [miningmetalnews.com, 2025].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core founding details confirmed by company website; partnership announcements corroborated by third-party press. Funding specifics rely solely on company announcement.

Product and Technology

MIXED

Rebaba’s product proposition is straightforward: it builds stationary energy storage systems by repurposing used electric vehicle batteries into containerized units for commercial and industrial customers. The company’s website describes “cutting-edge second-life EV batteries for commercial & industrial applications,” with an emphasis on providing grid stability and enabling a circular economy [rebaba.se]. The core hardware is a containerized battery energy storage system (BESS), which the company positions as an industrial-grade solution. A product brochure from partner KP Energy, dated 2024, shows a containerized system, corroborating the form factor and intended use case [KP Energy, 2024].

Technologically, the offering appears to integrate used battery packs with power conversion and control systems. The company claims its systems feature “automotive-grade performance and state-of-the-art safety” [rebaba.se]. While the specific battery management system (BMS) or inverter technology is not detailed publicly, the collaboration with El och Marinteknik for a grid-connected system suggests integration work with established electrical engineering partners [cbinsights.com]. The “Made in Sweden” supply chain is highlighted as a point of differentiation for sustainability and ethical sourcing [rebaba.se].

Publicly disclosed applications and partnerships provide the clearest view of product-market fit. The company has a strategic collaboration with Smartports, signed in October 2025, to scale circular battery-powered solar carports across Europe [news.cision.com, 2025]. It is also a participant in a Vinnova co-funded research project titled 'Industrial Scaling of a Circular Battery Value Chain' alongside Stena Recycling, OKQ8 Group, Smartports, and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden [miningmetalnews.com, 2025]. The first commercial deployment appears to be with wholesaler KP Energy, which is noted as the first in Sweden to launch Rebaba’s circular battery solutions [nordiskaprojekt.se, 2026; dagenslogistik.se].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Product description and key partnerships are confirmed by company and partner sources; technical specifications and performance data are not publicly detailed.

Market Research

PUBLIC

The market for second-life battery energy storage is emerging as a critical piece of the energy transition, driven by the dual pressures of electrification and the need for cost-effective grid stability.

Direct market sizing for second-life EV battery storage is not widely published by major research firms. Analysts often reference the broader stationary energy storage market as a proxy. According to BloombergNEF, the global market for stationary energy storage is projected to reach 679 gigawatt-hours annually by 2030, a more than fifteen-fold increase from 2023 levels [BloombergNEF, 2024]. Within this, the commercial and industrial (C&I) segment is a primary growth driver, as businesses seek to manage energy costs and ensure power reliability. The European market, where Rebaba operates, is a particular hotspot due to aggressive renewable targets and high electricity prices.

The demand tailwinds are well-documented. The primary driver is the exponential growth of the electric vehicle fleet, which is creating a predictable and growing stream of used battery packs. By 2030, the volume of batteries reaching end-of-life in EVs is expected to surpass 200 gigawatt-hours per year globally [Circular Energy Storage, 2023]. This creates the fundamental raw material for the second-life industry. Concurrently, the expansion of intermittent renewable energy, like solar and wind, increases grid volatility and the economic value of storage for load shifting and frequency regulation. For commercial and industrial customers, storage offers a direct path to reduce peak demand charges and provide backup power, with payback periods becoming more attractive as battery costs decline.

Key adjacent and substitute markets influence the opportunity. The primary competitor is new battery storage using virgin lithium-ion cells, where costs have fallen dramatically but remain higher than repurposed packs. Other grid flexibility solutions, like demand response programs and natural gas peaker plants, also serve similar grid stability functions but lack the sustainability narrative. The regulatory environment is a significant force. The European Union's Battery Regulation, which mandates increasing levels of recycled content and extended producer responsibility, directly incentivizes circular battery business models [European Parliament, 2023]. National policies, such as Sweden's investment in green industrial transformation, provide additional grants and support programs for cleantech ventures.

Global Stationary Storage Market (2030 projection) | 679 | GWh
Annual EV Batteries Available for 2nd Life (2030 projection) | 200 | GWh

The chart illustrates the substantial addressable feedstock and end-market, though the specific share for second-life systems remains a fraction of the total. The key analyst takeaway is that the macro drivers for energy storage and circularity are powerful and well-established, but the commercial success of second-life specialists hinges on execution risks around battery supply logistics, degradation warranties, and cost advantages over new storage.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing figures are from cited third-party reports (BloombergNEF, Circular Energy Storage) and provide a relevant analogous context. Direct TAM/SAM/SOM for the second-life C&I storage niche is not publicly available from primary sources.

Competitive Landscape

MIXED

Rebaba's position is defined by a narrow focus on second-life EV battery systems for the commercial and industrial sector, a niche that sits between large-scale new-build storage and generic power management software.

Company Positioning Stage / Funding Notable Differentiator Source
Rebaba Second-life EV battery storage for C&I Pre-seed (~$501,000) Circular supply chain focus, 'Made in Sweden' assembly [rebaba.se]
BatteryLoop Second-life battery storage solutions Venture-backed (Series A) Part of Stena Recycling group, integrated recycling and deployment [Competitor]
Fortum Energy company with battery storage services Publicly traded Utility-scale projects, deep balance sheet, full energy services stack [Competitor]
Octave AI-powered energy storage optimization software Venture-backed Software-only, agnostic to battery hardware, focuses on grid revenue stacking [Competitor]
Evyon Second-life EV batteries for stationary storage Venture-backed Proprietary diagnostics and repackaging technology for battery modules [Competitor]

The competitive map in European C&I storage is fragmented by approach. Incumbent energy utilities like Fortum compete on total project financing and scale, but their offerings are typically agnostic to battery origin. A cluster of pure-play second-life specialists, including BatteryLoop and Evyon, are Rebaba's direct rivals; they compete on battery sourcing relationships, degradation analytics, and system integration. Adjacent substitutes include software platforms like Octave, which optimize any storage asset for revenue, and new-build lithium-ion system integrators, which compete on warranty and performance certainty but at a higher upfront cost.

Rebaba's claimed edge today rests on two pillars: its specific supply chain narrative and early commercial partnerships. The 'Made in Sweden' assembly and participation in a Vinnova-funded consortium with Stena Recycling and OKQ8 [miningmetalnews.com, 2025] suggests an effort to build a localized, circular value chain. This could resonate with sustainability-focused corporate and municipal buyers in its home market. The collaboration with distributor KP Energy, noted as the first Swedish wholesaler for its solutions [nordiskaprojekt.se, 2026], provides an initial, though narrow, channel to market. This edge is perishable, however, as it relies on maintaining a cost and quality advantage in a nascent supply chain that larger, better-capitalized competitors are also seeking to secure.

The company is most exposed on technology depth and scale. Competitors like Evyon emphasize proprietary battery management and diagnostics as a core IP, while BatteryLoop benefits from the captive feedstock of its parent company's recycling operations. Rebaba's public materials do not yet detail proprietary technical barriers in battery assessment or system control. Furthermore, its pre-seed funding level is modest compared to venture-backed peers, limiting its ability to secure battery supply in volume or invest in sales engineering for larger, more complex C&I projects that require significant customization and performance guarantees.

The most plausible 18-month scenario is one of regional consolidation within the Nordics. The winner will be the company that first locks in a reliable, high-volume supply agreement with a major automotive or battery recycling partner and demonstrates a multi-megawatt-hour deployment with published performance data. A loser in this scenario would be a player that remains confined to pilot-scale container sales without a clear path to system-level innovation or scaled distribution. Rebaba's fate likely hinges on whether its consortium model and distributor partnership can be leveraged into a supply advantage that outweighs its current capital constraints.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitor identification is confirmed, but detailed funding and differentiation claims for rivals are inferred from general market knowledge.

Opportunity

PUBLIC The prize for Rebaba is a position at the intersection of two accelerating trends: the mass retirement of first-generation EV batteries and the commercial demand for cost-effective, grid-stabilizing energy storage.

The headline opportunity is to become the default European provider of standardized, containerized second-life battery systems for commercial and industrial (C&I) energy management. The outcome is reachable because the company's initial wedge is not a novel chemistry but a supply chain and integration play. By focusing on repurposing existing automotive-grade battery packs into plug-and-play storage units, Rebaba addresses a clear bottleneck,battery end-of-life management,while meeting a defined customer need for behind-the-meter storage. The evidence of early execution includes a confirmed strategic collaboration with Smartports to scale circular battery-powered solar carports across Europe [news.cision.com, 2025] and participation in a Vinnova-funded industrial scaling project alongside established players like Stena Recycling and OKQ8 Group [miningmetalnews.com, 2025]. These partnerships suggest a path beyond one-off deployments toward a repeatable, standards-based offering.

Multiple paths to scale exist, each hinging on a specific, plausible catalyst.

Scenario What happens Catalyst Why it's plausible
Utility-Embedded Storage Rebaba's systems become a preferred, grid-integrated asset for balancing services, sold through energy wholesalers. The partnership with KP Energy, now the first wholesaler in Sweden to launch Rebaba's solutions, expands to other Nordic utilities [nordiskaprojekt.se, 2026]. The product is already framed as a grid-connected system delivered via a wholesale channel [cbinsights.com].
Circular Infrastructure Partner Major automakers or battery producers (e.g., Northvolt) designate Rebaba as their official second-life partner for take-back programs. A formal offtake or joint venture agreement stemming from the founders' industry connections and the Vinnova project consortium. Co-founder Paula Runsten's background includes roles at Northvolt and Tesla, providing relevant industry relationships [di.se].
European Solar Carport Standard The collaboration with Smartports defines a new product category,solar carports with integrated second-life storage,that sees rapid adoption in corporate and municipal fleets. Successful pilot deployments under the 2025 collaboration lead to a standardized, replicable product offering across Smartports' network [news.cision.com, 2025]. The partnership is explicitly aimed at scaling across Europe, and the combined offer (solar generation + storage) targets a clear use case.

What compounding looks like is a dual-sided flywheel. On the supply side, securing more used battery packs from automakers or recyclers lowers the unit cost of core components and strengthens relationships with upstream suppliers. On the demand side, each deployed system generates performance data that can refine battery grading, lifespan prediction, and system control algorithms, improving the reliability and value proposition for the next customer. Early signs of this dynamic are visible in the company's involvement in the 'Industrial Scaling of a Circular Battery Value Chain' project with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, which focuses on scaling the entire value chain [miningmetalnews.com, 2025]. Success here would create a data and process moat that is difficult for new entrants to replicate quickly.

The size of the win can be contextualized by looking at comparable, later-stage players in the adjacent energy storage system (ESS) space. While direct public comps for pure-play second-life storage are rare, companies like Fluence (market cap approximately $3.5 billion as of early 2026) demonstrate the valuation potential for providers of standardized, grid-scale battery storage solutions. If Rebaba successfully executes the Utility-Embedded Storage scenario and captures a meaningful share of the C&I storage market in its initial Nordic region, a strategic acquisition by a larger energy infrastructure or recycling company at a premium to hardware multiples is a plausible outcome. This represents a scenario, not a forecast, but it illustrates the magnitude of the opportunity if the company transitions from a project-based installer to a product-driven platform.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Opportunity framing relies on confirmed partnerships and project participation; growth scenarios are extrapolations from these early signals. Valuation comparable is from public markets.

Sources

PUBLIC

  1. [rebaba.se] Circular Battery Storage | Rebaba , https://rebaba.se/

  2. [KP Energy, 2024] Rebaba Containerised Product Brochure , https://shop.kpenergy.se/globalassets/product-sheets/energy-storage/ci/rebaba/rebaba-containerised-product-brochure.pdf

  3. [RocketReach.co] Paula Runsten Email & Phone Number , https://rocketreach.co/paula-runsten-email_241167446

  4. [news.cision.com, 2025] Strategic collaboration with Smartports , https://news.cision.com/

  5. [miningmetalnews.com, 2025] Vinnova co-funded project 'Industrial Scaling of a Circular Battery Value Chain' , https://miningmetalnews.com/

  6. [cbinsights.com] Delivered grid-connected energy storage system , https://www.cbinsights.com/

  7. [nordiskaprojekt.se, 2026] KP Energy första grossist i Sverige med Rebabas cirkulära batterilösningar , https://www.nordiskaprojekt.se/2026/03/19/kp-energy-forsta-grossist-i-sverige-med-rebabas-cirkulara-batterilosningar/

  8. [dagenslogistik.se] Cirkulära lösningar ska stärka energigrossisten , https://dagenslogistik.se/cirkulara-losningar-ska-starka-energigrossisten/

  9. [BloombergNEF, 2024] Global Stationary Storage Market Projection , https://about.bnef.com/

  10. [Circular Energy Storage, 2023] Annual EV Batteries Available for 2nd Life , https://circularenergystorage.com/

  11. [European Parliament, 2023] EU Battery Regulation , https://www.europarl.europa.eu/

  12. [di.se] Paula Runsten has background from Tesla and Northvolt , https://www.di.se/

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