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justin lopez

T2 · manager / operator

Justin Lopez is the CEO and co-founder of Base Power, a distributed battery storage company that manufactures and installs 40kWh home battery systems in Texas. He previously worked as an oil field service intern in West Texas and is passionate about bringing manufacturing back to the US.

11 calls·7 names·73% bull·last heard 2 months ago·TBPN+2
track record

no scored calls yet — needs a stated position or a categorical verdict, with a matured window vs SPY

top calls

highest conviction · one per company
1sthigh conviction
$BASE-POWERBase Powerposition

Base Power raises $1B Series D at $13B post to build battery factories and distributed power plants

Justin Lopez describes manufacturing custom batteries in Texas factory, deploying on homes as distributed power plant, with regulated/deregulated go-to-market; geographic density of installs creates operational efficiency; $1B raise funds factory scale and multi-state expansion.

TBPN2026-08episode →
2ndhigh conviction
$SPCXSpaceX

SpaceX manufacturing culture — design for scale, delete processes, colocate engineering and production

SpaceX's edge is designing for manufacturing at scale from day one: using coil steel instead of plate to eliminate 8-9 welds per ring, automating repeatable processes, and colocating engineering with manufacturing (same building or short drive) to iterate in hours not weeks. This system engineering approach — cross-disciplinary engineers who own cost, economics, and design — is the transferable model for hard tech.

a16z2025-10episode →
3rdhigh conviction
$ANDURILAnduril

Anduril applies SpaceX-style manufacturing speed to defense, but adds BD/government relations as core competency

Anduril scales products to market faster than traditional primes by combining first-principles engineering with a business development and policy machine that reshapes how government procures. Unlike SpaceX's product-led growth (only game in town), Anduril must navigate 40,000 requirements from procurement offices — making regulatory/BD strength a differentiator that Base Power now emulates for utilities.

a16z2025-10episode →

most discussed · click a bar to filter

  • $BASE-POWER
  • $BA
  • $TSLA
  • $SPCX
  • $NOC

recurring themes

  • Grid & Power Infrastructure6
  • Advanced Manufacturing4
  • Energy & Power Generation4
  • AI Infrastructure1
  • Defense Tech1
11 total
$BASE-POWER
Base Power
HIGHjustin lopez·TBPN·2 months ago·Astra Ends Math, Gruber Joins, 1 Person $1 Companies, Hank Green Is Absolutely Right· position
Base Power raises $1B Series D at $13B post to build battery factories and distributed power plants
Justin Lopez describes manufacturing custom batteries in Texas factory, deploying on homes as distributed power plant, with regulated/deregulated go-to-market; geographic density of installs creates operational efficiency; $1B raise funds factory scale and multi-state expansion.
"We design batteries. We manufacture them here. We install them on homes and then we own and operate them as a distributed fleet, distributed power plant. Uh that's the business to…"
122:30
$BASE-POWER
Base Power
HIGHjustin lopez·Sourcery VC·2 months ago·Inside Base Power's Battery Line & $2.5B in Capital· position
Base Power CEO articulates vertical integration thesis for grid-edge home batteries at $13B valuation
Base Power vertically integrates battery manufacturing in the US to cut costs, reduce lead times, and iterate hardware rapidly. Their grid-focused 40 kWh home battery (3x typical size) provides whole-home backup and grid services, with a differentiated business model for retail choice markets (selling power) vs regulated markets (utility partnerships).
"It's a vertical integration thesis, right? We can cut down cost. We can reduce lead time. We can change the hardware much more quickly because we can have the engineer drive the g…"
14:14
$BASE-POWER
Base Power
HIGHjustin lopez·Sourcery VC·2 months ago·Inside Base Power's Battery Line & $2.5B in Capital· position
Base Power raises $1B Series D at $13B valuation, launches 40kWh Base Core home battery
Base Power is vertically integrating battery manufacturing to deploy grid-edge storage at scale, targeting 4,000 units/week production by year-end with 100+ daily installs already. The 40kWh Base Core is 3x larger than competitors, enabling whole-home backup and grid services with a differentiated business model across retail choice and regulated utility markets.
"Base Power just raised a $1 billion series D at a $13 billion valuation led by Ribbit, Addition, Valor, and JP Morgan Chase, bringing total funding over $2.5 billion. Today, they'…"
0:00
$BASE-POWER
Base Power
HIGHjustin lopez·TBPN·2 months ago·Astra Ends Math, Gruber Joins, 1 Person $1 Companies, Hank Green Is Absolutely Right· position
Base Power raises $1B Series D at $13B valuation, launches battery factory in Texas
Factory-built custom batteries deployed as distributed power plant on homes; geographic density is a feature for installation efficiency; dual go-to-market in deregulated (Texas) and regulated (utility partnership) markets; grid support monetization model.
"we design batteries. We manufacture them here. We install them on homes and then we own and operate them as a distributed fleet, distributed power plant... the geographical tightn…"
122:54
$BA
···
Boeing
MEDjustin lopez·a16z·last year·SpaceX & Anduril Lessons for Rebuilding America’s Energy Infrastructure
Boeing cited alongside Northrop as cost-plus defense prime vulnerable to disruption
Same cost-plus structure as Northrop — guaranteed margins on cost basis discourages speed, innovation, and talent density. Listed as canonical example of the old defense industrial base that Anduril and new energy companies are displacing.
"And cost plus is how Northrop, you know, Boeing, etc., the traditional defense primes are are are incentivized to go build hardware."
17:00
$TSLA
···
Tesla
MEDjustin lopez·a16z·last year·SpaceX & Anduril Lessons for Rebuilding America’s Energy Infrastructure
Tesla alumni bring manufacturing-first engineering culture to Base Power
Tesla (and SpaceX) veterans carry a distinct engineering DNA: they think in system-level cost/economics, not just component design. Base Power has hired heavily from Tesla/Starlink, and the difference in how they approach design-for-manufacturing vs. traditional auto/aerospace/defense engineers is immediately visible.
"We've hired a ton of Tesla folks here at Base Power. And um it's you can definitely tell the difference between somebody that worked at, you know, name your aerospace or automotiv…"
10:12
$SPCX
···
SpaceX
HIGHjustin lopez·a16z·last year·SpaceX & Anduril Lessons for Rebuilding America’s Energy Infrastructure
SpaceX manufacturing culture — design for scale, delete processes, colocate engineering and production
SpaceX's edge is designing for manufacturing at scale from day one: using coil steel instead of plate to eliminate 8-9 welds per ring, automating repeatable processes, and colocating engineering with manufacturing (same building or short drive) to iterate in hours not weeks. This system engineering approach — cross-disciplinary engineers who own cost, economics, and design — is the transferable model for hard tech.
"The concept of thinking about the manufacturing and the scale of the product while you're designing it is sort of like when you say it, it's like, well, of course, everyone should…"
10:00
$NOC
···
Northrop Grumman
MEDjustin lopez·a16z·last year·SpaceX & Anduril Lessons for Rebuilding America’s Energy Infrastructure
Traditional defense primes (Northrop, Boeing) stuck in cost-plus model that repels talent and innovation
Cost-plus incentives (guaranteed profit on cost) make primes like Northrop and Boeing structurally unable to attract top engineering talent or adopt new technology — same dynamic as regulated utilities. This creates a disruption opening for Anduril-style firms and Base Power in energy.
"The utilities have a cost plus business model. And cost plus is how Northrop, you know, Boeing, etc., the traditional defense primes are are are incentivized to go build hardware.…"
17:00
$BASE-POWER
Base Power
HIGHjustin lopez·a16z·last year·SpaceX & Anduril Lessons for Rebuilding America’s Energy Infrastructure· position
Base Power uses distributed home batteries to cut grid delivery costs via virtual transmission
Placing storage at the load side (homes) utilizes existing distribution infrastructure far more effectively — average line utilization is below 50% but built for peak. Batteries shift load off-grid at peak, enabling virtual transmission (charge in Dallas, discharge in Houston) without new wires, while monetizing in Texas's real-time wholesale market.
"If you look at the average distribution line in the US, its utilization is far below 50%. But the entire system has to be built for peak. There's a ton of extra capacity sitting t…"
23:00
$A123
···
A123 Systems
MEDjustin lopez·a16z·last year·SpaceX & Anduril Lessons for Rebuilding America’s Energy Infrastructure
US invented LFP battery chemistry but lost manufacturing to China — now a strategic supply chain gap
LFP (lithium iron phosphate) was developed in the US at A123 Systems and East Coast labs, but manufacturing was outsourced to China, which iterated and built IP. Today virtually all LFP cells come from China (some Korean catch-up). Base Power buys cells from China despite doing final assembly, power electronics, and PCBs domestically — a structural dependency they are working to reshore.
"LFP was was built in the US. It was it was it was um tragedy... developed LFP many years ago uh and then mostly outsourced the manufacturing of it to China who have then you know…"
39:40
9
Grid & Power Infrastructuretailwind
Distributed battery storage at grid edge replaces peaker plants and enables retail energy arbitrage
Base Power deploys 40kWh home batteries as grid-edge assets that provide whole-home backup and grid services. In retail choice markets (Texas), they sell power directly to consumers and monetize battery aggregation. In regulated markets, utilities control the batteries and pay for access. This distributed architecture avoids transmission constraints and scales faster than centralized storage.
9
Advanced Manufacturingtailwind
Design for manufacturing at scale — delete parts, automate processes, colocate engineering and production
The SpaceX/Anduril/Tesla playbook: engineers must own the full system (cost, economics, manufacturing, regulation), not just their component. Prototypes allow heroic one-offs; production requires deleting processes (coil vs plate steel eliminates 8 welds), automating repeatability, and colocating design with the factory floor (same building or 20-minute drive). This cuts iteration speed from weeks to hours and is the transferable hard-tech moat.
9
Grid & Power Infrastructuretailwind
Delivery cost of electricity rising while generation cost falls — storage at load reverses the trend
Generation costs (solar, wind, nuclear) continue down the cost curve, but delivery costs are increasing because the grid is built for peak and underutilized. Distributed storage at the home level flattens the load profile, reduces peak capacity needs, and lowers the delivered cost of energy — the true metric for consumers. This is the core investment thesis for Base Power and the sector.
9
Energy & Power Generationtailwind
Home batteries as virtual transmission lines unlock stranded grid capacity
Placing storage behind the meter at the load side (homes) smooths both generation intermittency and demand peaks, raising utilization of existing distribution lines from <50% toward 100%. This avoids costly new transmission build-out — charging in one city and discharging in another creates 'virtual transmission' without physical wires. Texas's real-time wholesale market (5-min pricing) enables immediate monetization.
9
AI Infrastructuretailwind
Electricity demand growth accelerating from 1-2% to 5%+ annually driven by AI and electrification
Data center load for AI plus EV adoption is inflecting US electricity demand growth from ~1-2%/year to 5%+/year. The constraint on AI, EVs, and broad prosperity will be the delivered cost of energy. This makes energy infrastructure — especially solutions that lower delivery cost without waiting for decade-long transmission builds — a prerequisite for the AI build-out.
8
Grid & Power Infrastructuretailwind
Distributed home batteries emerge as grid infrastructure at the edge
Base Power deploys 40 kWh batteries behind residential meters to provide whole-home backup and grid services, aggregating capacity across neighborhoods to relieve peak demand from EVs and AC, with the utility controlling the battery in regulated markets and paying for access.
8
Grid & Power Infrastructuretailwind
Distributed home batteries at grid edge replace peaker plants and provide stability
Base Power deploys 40 kWh batteries at residential grid edge to provide whole-home backup and grid support services (frequency regulation, peak shaving). This distributed architecture replaces centralized peaker plants, leverages retail choice markets for innovative power-selling models, and partners with utilities in regulated markets for grid services revenue.
8
Energy & Power Generationtailwind
Retail choice electricity markets enable direct-to-consumer energy sales backed by distributed storage
In deregulated markets like Texas (Houston, Dallas, parts of Austin), Base Power acts as a retail electricity provider, selling power to homeowners while using aggregated home batteries to lower wholesale costs. In regulated markets (California, El Paso), they partner with utilities who control the batteries and pay for capacity. This dual-model unlocks a massive TAM across US grid architectures.