Climate tech
Q2 202410.06.2024

Energy Storage (Q2 2024)

Picture of Freya Pratty

Freya Pratty

at Sifted

The electricity grid has delivered power to our homes and offices for over a century. But, if we’re to transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy, it’s in need of a shake up.

Renewable energy sources are intermittent — we can’t control when the sun shines or the wind blows. That means that as we transition to a greener grid we need to build energy storage systems to store energy when it’s being produced and then deploy it when it’s not.

Startups – and their investors — are cottoning onto the opportunity. Companies are manufacturing energy storage batteries or designing new ones. Others are deploying large-scale batteries that hook into the grid, or working on software to control when batteries dispatch their energy.

Newer areas of innovation are also gaining traction. Thermal energy storage, where energy is stored as heat rather than electricity, has seen an uptick in interest. Thermal storage relies on materials like salt to store energy — a commodity that’s cheaper and more abundant than the critical minerals needed to produce conventional batteries. As the rush for critical minerals increases, we can expect thermal energy companies like Danish startup Hyme (up +2.53) to receive increasing interest.

Data from Dealroom suggests that funding into energy storage lept 45% from 2022 to 2023, hitting $6.6bn last year. It’s important to note that the figure includes some mammoth rounds into Swedish company Northvolt, which produces batteries for electric vehicles and as well as for energy storage.

20 most promising early-stage startups to watch

  • ZE Energy logo

    Sifted score

    6.61
    -0.41

    ZE Energy

    Renewable energy storage and distribution.

    • Strong investor(s)

    • Year founded

      2018

    • HQ

      Paris, France

    • Latest round

      Early VC
      €40m / Nov 2021

    • Total funding

      €44m

    View company profile
  • Hyme logo

    Sifted score

    6.15
    +2.53

    Hyme

    Renewable energy storage and generation.

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2021

    • HQ

      Copenhagen, Denmark

    • Latest round

      Early VC
      €10.9m / Feb 2024

    • Total funding

      €25.1m

    View company profile
  • STABL Energy (Formerly m-Bee) logo

    Sifted score

    5.95
    -0.35

    STABL Energy (Formerly m-Bee)

    Optimized energy storage for renewables.

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2019

    • HQ

      Munich, Germany

    • Latest round

      Early VC
      €15m / Aug 2023

    • Total funding

      €21.6m

    View company profile
  • RheEnergise logo

    Sifted score

    5.15
    -

    RheEnergise

    High-density fluid for energy storage.

    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2019

    • HQ

      London, United Kingdom

    • Latest round

      Seed
      €0.4m / Feb 2024

    • Total funding

      €13.1m

    View company profile
  • VANEVO logo

    Sifted score

    5.13
    -0.45

    VANEVO

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring

    • Year founded

      2018

    • HQ

      Oldenburg, Germany

    • Latest round

      Grant
      €1.7m / Jun 2022

    • Total funding

      €4.2m

    View company profile

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