Public (NYSE: GWH); warned of a 'survival battle' and operational reset
Live · GWH· NYSE
as of 2026-09-17
$0.363▼ 3.63% today
≈ $14.6 Million market cap · −98.6% from peak
The rise & fall
6 moments · 2011–2025
The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.
2011
🌱
2011
Founded in Oregon
Long-duration flow batteries built from iron, salt and water — no lithium required.
Wikipedia
2021
📈
2021
The peak: a $1.07B SPAC listing$1.07B
The merger with ACON S2 Acquisition Corp puts ESS on the NYSE with roughly $465M in proceeds.
SEC filing
2022–24
2022–24
Lithium keeps getting cheaper
Commercialization comes slow and expensive while lithium-ion prices keep falling; the cash pile burns down.
Energy-Storage.News
2022
💔
2022
Slips out of the club
The stock starts a slide that eventually tops 95%.
Macrotrends
2022–25
💬
From the inside · Glassdoor reviews, 2022–25
Through the decline, Glassdoor reviewers consistently praised the core technology while faulting disorganized leadership and a bumpy shift from R&D to volume manufacturing — describing morale sliding through repeated layoff rounds and the departure of the founders.
2025
2025
A 'survival battle'
Shares sit near $1.74, the Oregon plant nearly closes, and the company warns of 'workforce actions' in an operational reset.
Energy-Storage.News
Today
Today
Still in the club — and still trading
Live · GWH · NYSEas of 2026-09-17
$0.363▼ 3.63% today≈ $14.6M cap · −98.6% from peak
💬 entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗; dated facts carry their source.
How it happened
ESS Tech makes long-duration iron-flow batteries — using iron, salt and water instead of lithium — and went public in 2021 via a SPAC merger with ACON S2 Acquisition Corp at a $1.07B valuation. Commercialization came slowly and expensively while lithium-ion costs kept falling, and the company burned through cash.
The stock collapsed more than 95%; by 2025 ESS warned of a 'survival battle,' nearly shut its Oregon factory and flagged possible 'workforce actions,' leaving it a distressed micro-cap far below $1B.
Source: Energy-Storage.News / SEC ($1.07B valuation via ACON S2 Acquisition Corp SPAC, 2021, ~$465M proceeds; shares collapsed from post-listing high to ~$1.74 by Aug 2025; nearly closed its Oregon plant, warned of 'workforce actions')
Who ran it
ED
Eric Dresselhuys
CEO Apr 2021-Feb 2025 who led ESS through its 2021 SPAC listing (peak) and collapse
