Total Energy Ventures, the French oil firm's venture capital arm, has made an equity investment in energy storage start-up Aquion Energy.
USA-based Aquion develops and manufactures energy storage systems designed to back up renewable energy technologies such as solar and wind. Its technology is based on batteries using aqueous electrolyte and stems from research carried out at Carnegie Mellon University in 2007.
Total's investment is part of a $36.8 million funding round completed by Aquion that also includes investment from Bill Gates and Shell Technology Ventures. It comes on the heels of Aquion's unveiling of its next generation AHI battery technology, which is specifically designed for multi-hour solar applications.
Scott Pearson, CEO of Aquion, said: "This latest round of financing is a testament to the confidence that top strategic and financial investors have in Aquion's technology, products, and management team.
“Building on the recent unveiling of our second generation AHI battery technology at Solar Power International, this funding will allow the Aquion team to continue to scale our operations and prepare for increased sales and deployments around the globe."
Sian Crampsie
Linkedin
