Dive Brief:
- Younicos, a German company developing software for energy storage applications, has scored $50 million in expansion funding but remains tight-lipped on its largest investor, PV Magazine reports. By some estimates, it is the largest investment in an energy storage provider this year.
- The funding comes from a group of investors including First Solar and Grupo ECOS, a sustainable investment-focused private equity firm.
- While the main investor was not identified, PV Magazine last month reported that Panasonic had taken an interest in the company and was considering taking a stake.
Dive Insight:
Energy storage is increasingly seen as an asset which can be monetized in different ways, and the $50 million investment in Younicos – which Greentech Media believes may be the largest investment in a storage company this year – reflects that.
“We see energy storage as a key market driver for renewables and an important and fast emerging asset class, said Grupo ECOS Investment Manager Ramon Candia. "Younicos is a leading and exciting investment opportunity in this sector."
Candia said the company's renewable portfolio in Latin America could provide opportunities for Younicos’ services.
Finalizing the investment sets off the second stage of the company's growth plan, according to Younicos CEO James McDougall. “Following our successful reorganization at the beginning of the year, our new investors now strengthen us not only financially, but will also help us capture important market segments more rapidly with higher value products and services," he said.
Raffi Garabedian, First Solar’s Chief Technology Officer, said utility-scale storage would be a "new frontier for grid flexibility and modernization that can help to facilitate high penetration of renewables in certain circumstances," and called Younicos a "true trailblazer" in grid-scale storage integration.
“As the promise of storage continues to evolve, we are eager to understand how it will broaden our own power plant offerings," Garabedian said.. This is an important investment in continuing and potentially accelerating the shift of our energy landscape to renewables.”
