Spokane company raises $17 million in capital

Spokane-based ReliOn Inc. just raised more than $17 million in additional venture capital funding to push the company closer to profitability, CEO Gary Flood said Friday.

It’s expected to be the company’s last round of financing, according to Flood.

“The basis for this funding is to expand our current market and expand to new market segments,” he said.

Spun off from Avista Corp., ReliOn makes hydrogen fuel cells that provide backup power. Its original name was Avista Labs.

The company’s main customers are telecommunications providers and other communications companies, said Flood. ReliOn products also provide backup power for air traffic control towers.

About $16.9 million of the new round of financing came from U.S. investors, the company reported in a form filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But Flood said the domestic portion of financing is not all that was raised from this new round.

He would not disclose ReliOn’s sales revenue or how soon the company expects to be profitable.

Flood said additional announcements and more funding will be completed in the next several weeks. At that point the investors and the total amount raised will be revealed, he said.

Earlier rounds of funding for ReliOn came from Oak Investment Partners, Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, Wall Street Technology Partners, Chrysalix Energy and Buerk Dale Victor.

In December, ReliOn said that it had shipped more than 1 million watts worth of fuel cell products to customers.