Mercom: Energy storage VC funding cools as project funding heats up in Q3

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

The participation of venture capital (VC) investors seems to have cooled, while project funding has conversely seen a sharp rise, in the latest quarterly report into funding and mergers and acquisitions from Mercom Capital.  

In the third quarter (Q3) 2016 report on the smart grid, battery storage and energy efficiency sectors, VC funding for battery storage dropped to just US$30 million across nine deals, compared to US$125 million across 10 deals in the previous quarter. Q3 last year also saw funding drop from the preceding quarter, though not as sharply. In 2015, Q2 and Q3 stood at US$126 million across 13 deals and US$96 million across nine deals, respectively.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Mercom found that six battery sub-technologies shared the VC funds including energy storage management software and supercapacitors, as well as lithium battery makers, whole energy storage system makers, thermal energy storage and flow batteries, the latter of which appear to be a consistent target for VC funding announcements in the past couple of years the report has been produced.

For the full version of this story, visit Energy-Storage.News.

Read Next

July 21, 2026
Norwegian IPP Statkraft has made final investment decisions (FID) in two solar PV projects in Ireland and the UK, combining 131MWp, in the second quarter of 2026.
July 20, 2026
Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) connected 9.1GW of new generation and energy storage to full output in FY26.
July 17, 2026
US solar developer Sol Systems has reached financial close on its 123MWac Peoria Solar Portfolio in Illinois.
Premium
July 17, 2026
PV Talk: Solclaris' Joe Miletic discusses the 'ready-to-repower' stage of PV project O&M and how it differs from the 'ready-to-build' stage.
July 17, 2026
German solar inverter producer SMA Solar has raised its full-year 2026 financial guidance following its preliminary Q2 financial results.
July 17, 2026
US solar PV mounting systems manufacturer Unirac has acquired the solar racking business of Terrasmart from its parent company Gibraltar Industries, expanding its product portfolio into the commercial and industrial (C&I) and distributed generation (DG) segments.

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 13, 2026
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
November 3, 2026
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
November 24, 2026
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
April 20, 2027
Istanbul, Türkiye