Total Energy Ventures, the venture capital arm of French energy company Total, is investing in Aquion Energy, a start-up specialized in energy storage technology.
Pittsburgh-based Aquion Energy develops and manufactures energy storage systems, especially for renewable energies such as solar and wind. Aquion’s patented Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHITM) battery technology delivers a safe, robust, cost-competitive storage solution, mainly thanks to the use of an aqueous electrolyte. The technology is based on research begun at Carnegie Mellon University in 2007 by Dr. Jay Whitacre and was spun out of the university’s labs in 2009. The company began marketing its products in 2014.
“Electricity storage is a core technological building block for deploying and integrating intermittent energy sources and one of the key challenges that our industry needs to meet in the coming years to move the renewables sector forward,” explains François Badoual, Chief Executive Officer of Total Energy Ventures. “Total is proud to support Aquion during this critical stage of its development, which is designed to expand its production capacity and step up the marketing of its products. This transaction underscores Total’s commitment to supporting the growth of renewable energies, which will gradually play a larger role in the global energy mix.”
Total Energy Ventures will sit on the company's Board of Directors as an observer.
The acquisition of an interest in Aquion Energy marks Total Energy Ventures’ nineteenth investment since its creation in 2008.
- See more at: http://www.total.com/media/news/press-releases/total-energy-ventures-steps-its-investment-energy-storage-acquiring-interest-aquion-energy#sthash.L0AUeocf.dpuf
