Global corporate funding for battery storage jumps to nearly $13 billion in Q1

Global battery storage companies ramped up corporate funding last year by raising US $17 billion and have already raised another $12.9 billion in the first quarter of this year, significantly outperforming capital infusion from $8.1 billion in 2020.

Data from market intelligence group Mercom Capital’s latest quarterly report into battery storage funding showed that the capital attracted by companies across 26 deals during the first quarter of 2022 included $1.1 billion of venture capital (VC) money and $11.7 billion in debt and public market financing. 

The funds raised dwarf a total of $316 million for smart grid companies and US$109 million for energy efficiency in the same period, the Mercom Capital report said.

The report tracks battery storage, smart grid and energy efficiency sectors and the corporate funding — including VC, debt and public market financing — that goes into them.

According to the report, despite the upsurge in funds, VC funding was down by 28 percent quarter-on-quarter.

Mercom’s data showed that 76 VC investors carried out battery storage funding transactions between January and March. The biggest deal was Canadian long-duration energy storage specialist Hydrostor Inc’s $250 million preferred equity funding from businesses within Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Other top deals include a $215 million raising by German electrolyser maker Sunfire GmbH and a funding round of $200 million for Factorial Energy, a US start-up developing solid-state batteries.

Mercom tracked five battery storage merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions in the first quarter and 13 project acquisitions, but did not disclose their values.

According to the report, public market and debt financing in the sector surged by 216 percent to $11.7 billion during the year.