Battery-Maker Pays $20M To Terminate 774K SF Brighton Industrial Lease
A California-based battery manufacturer terminated a lease in Brighton just a year and a half into its 15-year term.
Amprius Technologies ended its lease with Starboard Platform Brighton JV LLC for 774K SF at 4353 E. Bromley Lane on Jan. 30, according to paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The termination became effective on Jan. 31.
Amprius paid a $20M lease termination fee to Starboard, which returned a $1.2M security deposit.
Under the lease, Amprius’ base rent was $300K, with an additional $190K in operating, insurance and property tax expenses. The base rent was subject to annual increases of around 3.3%. The 15-year lease started in June 2024.
Amprius had received $5M in tax incentives from the Colorado Economic Development Commission to open its warehouse in Brighton, according to The Denver Post.
In 2023, Amprius leased the 800K SF space near Denver International Airport but never ended up occupying it and put it up for sublease instead. The company was set to get a $50M grant connected to former President Joe Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
But last year, after a sharp pivot away from clean energy projects by the Trump administration, Amprius canceled its plans.
On Tuesday, the battery manufacturer announced it is partnering with Nanotech Energy, an American energy company developing lithium-ion batteries, to develop a domestic production pipeline. The announcement fueled Amprius’ stock to increase almost 12%, according to Insider Monkey.
Total net absorption for Denver industrial properties in 2025 was around 3.6M SF, up almost 900K SF from 2024, according to CBRE’s fourth-quarter report. However, leasing activity in 2025 declined by around 17.7% compared to 2024.
Clean energy manufacturing was on a growth tear until last year, when a change in federal priorities contributed to a pivot. Aerospace and defense now make up the largest share of job-creation announcements among manufacturing companies in the U.S.
