Venture capital investments in battery storage companies and projects rose significantly year-over-year through the first six months of 2019, according to a report from Mercom Capital Group. That level of activity is consistent with the growth in energy storage noted by speakers on July 24 at the Storage Week Plus conference in San Francisco, California.
“We will be 100% renewable by 2045, that is our goal,” said Carlos Fandino, city administrator for the City of Vernon, a Los Angeles suburb. Fandino was part of a panel that discussed the procurement of storage by utilities, municipalities, and electric cooperatives. “The way we will get there is through battery storage and other technologies,” he said.
Mercom, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, on July 22 released its report on funding and mergers and acquisitions activity for global battery storage, energy efficiency, and smart grid sectors. The data covers the first quarter of this year, along with the April–June period.
Mercom said funding for battery storage companies jumped 139% year-over-year in the first half of 2019 compared to the first half of 2018. Mercom tracked 17 deals worth $1.4 billion in 2019, compared to $543 million for 30 deals in the first six months of 2018. Battery storage technology continues to evolve, with developers of storage systems increasingly focused on reliability.
Northvolt, a Swedish company, received $1 billion of that 1H2019 funding to complete what is considered Europe’s largest lithium-ion battery plant. The company in mid-June announced that automakers Volkswagen and BMW were among the investors in the facility. “Today is not only a great milestone for Northvolt, it also marks a key moment for Europe that clearly shows that we are ready to compete in the coming wave of electrification,” Northvolt CEO and former Tesla executive Peter Carlsson said at a June 12 news conference announcing the deal.
Municipalities Look at Costs
Mercom said 41 venture capital investors participated in funding battery storage in the first half of this year. Along with the Northvolt deal, other top funding went to Sila Nanotechnologies ($170 million); Romeo Power ($88.6 million), Zenobe Energy ($32.3 million); and LivGuard Energy Technologies (about $32 million).
The cost of storage is key for project development, according to Fandino and the other panelists. “We look at capital costs and infrastructure costs,” Fandino said. Vernon is home to many industrial sites, and Fandino said their needs are important for decisions the city makes about energy.
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