A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting startups in the energy storage sector globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – ENERGY STORAGE
- Wärtsilä acquires energy storage software and analytics company Greensmith. Link
- Ceres Power signs an agreement to develop its steel-based fuel cell technology for use in the housing market. Link
- Xiaodian, a mobile phone charging network provider, raises $50M in Series B from Sequoia China, Banyan Capital, Tencent, CDH Investments, Kunzhong Capital. Link
- Wibotic, provider of wireless power and battery intelligence solutions for the robotic industry, raises $2.5M in seed financing. Link
- Anode-free Li-ion battery developer SolidEnergy raises $5M from undisclosed investors. Link
- ChargePoint raises additional $24M to support European expansion of its electric vehicle charging network. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Micropower Labs (Macul, 2015) – Micropower Labs is a technology developer supported by Start-up Chile and NEST I/O. The company has developed their first product called Flash Pack, which they claim to be the world’s fastest charging power bank that holds a charge of 5000mAh and can be completely charged in 15 minutes. They claim to have another product in development called ‘Cooly’, that is the world’s first solar-powered wearable cooling device.
LEADER BOARD – ENERGY STORAGE
Batteries
Energizer (1896, St.Louis, IPO) – Energizer is the oldest battery manufacturer in the world. The company has launched multiple product lines, one of them being the Inductive Charger to the world’s first AA battery made with 4% recycled batteries. The different types of battery manufactured are AAA,AA,D,9V, Photo batteries, Hearing Aid batteries etc. Two major brands are Energizer and Eveready. Went public in June, 2015.
Boston Power (2005, Westborough, $638M) – Boston-Power develops and manufactures batteries which charges faster, lasts longer, performs better and is safer than what’s currently on the market. The technology can be used in electronic devices like laptops, PDAs and mobile phones. Backed by GSR Ventures, Oak Investment Partners, Foundations Asset Management, Venrock, GGV Capital and Gabriel Venture Partners.
Energy Storage Systems
BYD (1996, Shenzhen, IPO) – BYD is a tech enterprise in China specializing in IT, automobile, and new energy. They are the largest supplier of rechargeable batteries in the globe, and has the largest market share for Nickel-cadmium batteries, handset Li-ion batteries, cell-phone chargers and keypads worldwide. Went public in August, 2002.
Alevo (2009, Martigny-Ville, $1.7B) – Alevo provides energy storage systems for grid scale storage. The “GridBank” is comprised of Lithium Ion cells which have 50000 recharge cycles. These cells are combined together to create large battery banks which can be positioned anywhere across the grid. Backed by SA Framtak.
Fuel Cell
Ballard Power Systems (1979, Burnaby, IPO) – Ballard Power Systems designs, develops and manufactures hydrogen fuel cell products for residential co-generation, back-up power, and heavy duty applications. The company operates in three segments Power Generation, Automotive, and Material Products. Went public in November, 1995
Bloom Energy (2001, Sunnyvale, $1.2B) – Bloom Energy builds solid oxide fuel cell technology to convert natural gas into electricity. The company offers distributed generation, energy server service (each Bloom Energy server provides 200kW of power) and energy server architecture. Backed by KPCB, NEA, Goldman Sachs among others.
Component Developer
Manz (1987, Reutlingen, IPO) – Manz is a leading provider of production equipment for lithium-ion battery cells, battery systems, super-capacitors and capacitors. The products manufactured by the company are production solutions for lithium-ion batteries and capacitors in e-mobility and stationary energy storage Went public in September, 2006.
Nexeon (2006, Abingdon, $167M) – Nexeon is a battery materials and licensing company with a unique silicon anode technology. Their technology unlocks the potential of silicon to deliver increased capacity without compromising lithium-ion battery cycle life, and provides lighter batteries with more power and longer lifetime between charges. Backed by Imperial Innovations and Invesco Perpetual.
Charging Solutions
CyberPower Systems (1997, Shakopee, IPO) – CyberPower Systems designs and manufactures uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, power distribution units (PDUs), surge protectors, mobile charging devices, connectivity devices and Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTx) backup power solutions. Went public in January, 2010.
ChargePoint (2007, Campbell, $279M) – Chargepoint is an electric vehicle infrastructure company that offers a network of public charging stations. ChargePoint operates EV charging network and also designs, builds, and supports the technology that powers it.
Battery Management
Younicos (2006, Berlin, $50M) – Younicos offers battery parks which are 3,000 times faster than conventional power plants enabling them to balance fluctuations in the grid much more precisely and efficiently. The company offers hybrid batteries and battery technology which make batteries intelligent and efficient. They provide micro grid system in remote areas with renewable energy supply and storage technology. Backed by First Solar and Grupoecos.
Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.
For latest updates visit Energy Storage feed.