The Central Valley Fund (CVF) Capital Partners has announced an investment of $9 million consisting of both mezzanine debt and equity to support Elan Growth Partners’ investment in HOB Custom Power in Fountain Valley.

Originally known as “House of Batteries,” HOB Custom power designs and assembles custom power solutions for medical, military, security, industrial and commercial applications. The company provides power solutions ranging from single-cell to multi-cell assemblies often with onboard electronic circuitry and integrated battery management system (BMS) firmware, utilizing a variety of advanced chemistries including lithium ion, lithium iron phosphate, nickel metal hydride and others.

Over the last 20 years, customer demand has grown rapidly with recent advances in lithium-ion technology that have led to a shift away from lead-acid batteries, as electronic devices become more mobile, require more power density and are subject to increasingly harsh environments.

“In 2019 alone, over 40 private equity investments have been made into lithium-ion based technologies,” said Stefan Okhuysen, principal at CVF, which has an office in Fresno. “In additions, we also see quite a bit of funding going to energy storage systems by many oil and gas companies, as well as utilities, who are actively investing in battery storage, smart grid and efficiency companies as the public and private sectors look for safer and more sustainable energy solutions.”

A related growth market for mobile power solutions is in heavy industrial applications.