Dive Brief:

The first nine months of 2017 saw a 35% increase in funds raised by battery storage, smart grid and efficiency companies, from $910 million to $1.23 billion, according to a new report from Mercom Capital Group.

Third quarter venture capital funding for battery storage companies dropped to $83 million from $422 million in the second quarter, while funding for smart grid companies fell from $139 million to $76 million and funding for energy efficiency companies rose from $29 million to $47 million.

Compared to Q3 2016, funding for battery storage increased $53 million, funding for smart grid companies increased $65 million, while funding for energy efficiency companies, the only group to see an increase compared to Q2 2017, fell $14 million compared to Q3 2016.

Dive Insight:

Battery storage, smart grid and efficiency companies are on track to beat the $1.3 billion in VC funding they secured in 2016, having already raised $1.23 billion through the first nine months of 2017.

Mercom’s Battery Storage, Smart Grid, and Efficiency Funding and M&A Report covered 119 companies and investors.

In battery storage, the top funded company in the third quarter was Advanced Microgrid Solutions, which raised $34 million from Energy Impact Partners, Southern Company, DBL Partners, GE Ventures, AGL Energy, Macquarie Capital and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Behind AMS was Romeo Power, which raised $30 million, and Gridtential Energy, which raised $11 million.

The top VC funded smart grid company in the third quarter was Particle, which secured $20 million from Spark Capital, Qualcomm Ventures and previous investors. Other top smart grid fundraisers in the quarter were INTEREL at $11.9 million, Roost at $10.4 million, Tritium, which secured $8 million, and Innowatts, which raised $6 million.

The Top VC deals in the efficiency category included Power Survey and Equipment, which received $24 million in funding, Corvi, which received a $10 million strategic investment from Hero Enterprise, and Deco Lighting, which secured $8 million in funding from Siena Funding.