Venture capital firms poured nearly $2 billion into battery storage companies in 2019.
The new report by Mercom Capital keeps tabs on how publicly known VC funding was allocated to energy storage, smart grid and energy efficiency companies. These transactions would include mergers and acquisition activity, as well.
Mercom reported that battery storage attracted $1.7 billion worth of investment last year, compared to $300 million for smart grid companies and $298 million for energy efficiency entities.
The global funding picture include venture capital, private equity and corporate VC investments. The total for the combined storage, smart grid and efficiency sectors was down 22 percent compared with the $3.9 billion moved in 2018, according to Mercom.
Battery storage, however, doubled year over year even though the $1.7 billion was spread out over fewer deals than in 2018. The increased investment was buoyed by Volkswagen’s $1 billion capitalization in Northvolt, a battery startup founded by two former Tesla executives, in the second quarter.
Lithium-ion battery technology companies accounted for 80 percent of the energy storage VC picture. Venture capital also put money in other storage technologies such as flow batteries, fuel cells, solid-state and zinc-air, among others.
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