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Investment in smart grid, battery storage and efficiency falls 76 per cent
Investments in smart grid, battery storage and efficiency companies globally dropped 76.4 per cent to $102 million in the quarter ended September 2016 from $443 million investments made in the previous quarter (Apr-June 2016), according to a latest report by Mercom Capital Group, a clean energy consultancy.
Third quarter funding has dropped by 79.3 per cent as compared to the corresponding quarter last year when $ 493 was gathered in investments. Mercom said in its report the top funded company was Ecobeean — an efficiency firm which manufactures Wi-Fi-enabled smart thermostat – that raised $35 million from Amazon Alexa Fund.
Other notable investments were Skeleton Technologies raising $14.5 million from FirstFloor Capital and Sense attracting $ 14million from Shell Technology Ventures. Mercom in its report titled “Funding and Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Activity for Smart Grid, Battery Storage and Energy Efficiency Sectors” covered specific details of the three sub-sectors.
Smart Grid
Venture capital (VC) funding for smart grid companies was around $11 million in the third quarter of 2016 compared to $81 million in the same period in 2015. Also, smart grid companies raised $222 million in the second quarter 2016.
Battery Storage
Investments in battery storage companies declined sharply to $30 million compared to $96 million in the same period in 2015. Battery storage companies had earlier raised $125 million in Q2 2016. Since 2013, $1.1 billion has been raised in this sector, Mercom said.
Efficiency
Similarly, investments in energy efficiency technology companies fell again this quarter with $61 million raised compared to $86 million in Q2 2016. On a year-on-year comparison, efficiency companies in the third quarter 2015 collected a much higher $316 million.
Seventeen investors participated in Energy Efficiency VC deals in the quarter as compared to 18 in the previous quarter.
Mercom delivers market intelligence and funding and M&A reports covering Smart Grid, Battery Storage & Energy Efficiency, and solar energy sector. The firm also advises companies on new market entry, custom market intelligence and strategic decision-making. Tom Kuhnhackl Jersey
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