In an era where AI data centers, advanced manufacturing, and EV infrastructure are surging, one of the biggest bottlenecks isn’t technology — it’s the electric grid itself. Businesses and utilities across the U.S. often face multi-year waits for permanent infrastructure upgrades before they can connect new loads or expand operations.
Los Angeles-based Critical Loop is tackling this head-on with modular, software-defined microgrids that deliver reliable power in days or weeks instead.
Today, the industrial power solutions company announced a $26 million Series A funding round led by Conifer Infrastructure Partners and Hanover (HNVR Technology Investment Management), with participation from Better Ventures, Climate Capital, Adapt Nation Capital, and Cyrus Ventures.
This brings Critical Loop’s total committed equity and debt funding to $49 million. The capital will fuel deployment scale-up, team growth, and deepened partnerships — including ongoing work at San Diego International Airport — backed by a supply agreement for U.S.-made batteries with LG Energy Solution Vertech.
A New Approach to an Old Problem: Flexible Interconnection Meets Microgrids
Critical Loop’s platform integrates battery storage, on-site generation, and its proprietary Cygnus software-defined power controller into a single, deployable system.
At the heart is the CLB-5100: a scalable, integrated 1 MW battery system designed for flexibility. It connects seamlessly to existing grid infrastructure, on-site generation (including solar), and emerging distributed energy resources.
Because the units are modular and relocatable, they can be positioned wherever grid capacity is constrained — allowing utilities to energize customers immediately while permanent substation or line upgrades proceed in the background.
This “flexible interconnection” model closes the gap that traditional grid solutions can’t: slow deployment, high cost, and rigidity. Cygnus acts as an intelligent orchestrator, autonomously managing diverse power sources to optimize reliability, shift loads, and maximize grid spare capacity.
“In just a couple of years, we’ve built a software and hardware stack that has the potential to accelerate time to power from years to days. With this team, we believe we can keep doing things that were previously considered impossible.”
— Bala Ramamurthy, Co-Founder and CEO, Critical Loop
Why This Matters Now: Beyond AI Data Centers
While headlines often focus on hyperscale AI power demand, Critical Loop designed the CLB-5100 for the broader wave of industrial and digital load growth straining distribution grids nationwide. Factories, EV charging hubs, advanced manufacturing facilities, and critical infrastructure all need faster, more predictable access to power.
“Grid interconnection queues are limiting industrial growth, and the current solutions are mostly slow to deploy and inflexible. Critical Loop is working on a timeline that actually matches what customers are dealing with. They’re delivering a real and immediate solution while also offering customers long-term value.”
— Nick Stork, Founder and Managing Partner, Conifer Infrastructure Partners
“Moore’s Law-style effects are beginning to deliver in energy, and the impact for America is profound… Critical Loop’s CLB-5100 speeds time-to-power and buys down net power cost — adding resilience to the grid while unlocking predictable costs for companies whose growth is at stake. This is quite literally the prerequisite to a new industrial revolution.”
— Joe Malchow, Founder and General Partner, Hanover
Proven in the Real World: Early Wins and Milestones
Critical Loop has already demonstrated its platform’s value through several high-impact deployments:
- Won a competitive bid to optimize on-site solar and batteries serving an 11 MW load at San Diego International Airport, the busiest single-runway airport in the United States.
- Kept a Cover manufacturing facility fully operational for eight months during a major utility outage.
- Enabled Terawatt Infrastructure to secure flexible connections for over 4 MW of incremental EV charging capacity across two sites in just a few months — instead of waiting years for utility buildout.
- Deployed two hybrid microgrids at Mojave test facilities within days of notice.
Additional momentum includes a supply agreement with LG Energy Solution Vertech for domestically manufactured batteries, recognition via the California Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Program, and direct citation by the California Public Utilities Commission in its February 2026 rulemaking directing SCE and PG&E to develop new Flexible Service Connection Tariffs.
“The industrial real estate market in Northern California runs on timelines that cannot afford to sit idle for years. When Critical Loop can get a facility connected in weeks or months, that changes what developers and tenants can commit to.”
— Greg Matter, Vice Chairman, Head of Advanced Manufacturing, JLL
Looking Ahead
Critical Loop is currently operating across California, with plans to expand into other high-demand regions facing similar grid constraints. With fresh capital and strong backing from infrastructure and climate-focused investors, the company is well-positioned to scale its relocatable, intelligent microgrid systems nationwide.
In a world racing toward electrification, Critical Loop isn’t just providing temporary power — it’s building a smarter, more resilient layer that bridges today’s constraints and tomorrow’s grid. By turning years-long delays into deployable solutions in days, Critical Loop is helping unlock industrial expansion, reduce costs, and accelerate America’s energy future.
For power-hungry industries and grid operators alike, the wait for reliable capacity may finally be over.
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