Global corp funding for battery storage drops 55% y/y in H1

Corporate funding in the energy storage segment totalled USD 7.1 billion (EUR 6.43bn) in the first half of the year, marking a 55% decline from the same period of 2022, according to new data by Mercom Capital Group.

Mercom’s latest report covers 227 companies and investors and tracks corporate funding, including venture capital (VC) funding and mergers and acquisitions (M&A). The statistics, released on Tuesday, show that the total funding in January-June was raised in 59 deals. The year-ago period brought 60 deals and was largely fuelled by the USD-10.8-billion IPO of South Korea's LG Energy Solution.

VC funding for battery storage companies came at USD 3.8 billion from 43 deals, up 27% from the first half of 2022 when 48 deals were concluded. South Korean battery maker SK On Co headed the list with the most prominent transactions after securing USD 944 million in a funding round in May, ahead of its 2026 initial public offering (IPO). A month later, the company announced another fundraising programme for USD 400 million.

Libode New Material Co Ltd, a Chinese manufacturer of lithium-ion battery cathode materials, obtained USD 375 million in a Series B round aimed at helping it speed up its IPO.

Meanwhile, US home solar battery storage firm Electriq Power secured USD 300 million to deploy community solar and storage capacity for households across California, while the same amount was pocketed by Our Next Energy to help the US company build a gigafactory for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells and battery packs.

Mercom tracked eight battery storage M&A transactions in the six months, of which only one was disclosed, against 13 deals in the same period of last year.

In the second quarter alone, corporate funding in the energy storage sector jumped by 126% in annual terms to USD 4.9 billion, while VC funding soared by 148% to USD 2.7 billion.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.905)

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