Battery companies sucked in a multi-billion-dollar boost from investors eager to grab a slice of the storage market in 2017, according to a new report.
The Mercom Capital Group said $1.03 billion was raised by battery storage, smart grid, and efficiency firms in the first half of 2017— compared to $807 million in the first half of 2016.
Mercom’s report on funding and mergers and acquisitions activity for the sectors said venture capital funding— including private equity and corporate venture capital for battery storage firms— jumped in the second quarter of 2017 to $422m in 10 deals compared to $58m in eight deals in the first quarter of 2017.
The top venture capital-funded battery storage firms in the second quarter of 2017 were Microvast Power, which raised $400m from CITIC Securities, CDH Investment, National Venture Capital and others. Vionx Energy received $12.75m while Moixa Technology raised $3.2m in funding from the UK’s Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Tokyo Electric Power Company and First Imagine Ventures.
Eleven investors participated in battery storage funding in the second quarter of 2017 with “lithium-based battery companies raising the most”, the report said.
Venture capital funding for smart grid companies in the second quarter of 2017 totalled $139m in eight deals compared to $164m in 14 deals in the first quarter of that year. In a year on year comparison, $222m was raised from 15 deals in the second quarter of 2016. A total of $304m was raised in 22 deals in the first half of 2017 compared to $331m raised in 29 deals in the first half of 2016.
Mercom’s report is available in full online.
