Battery storage companies attracted significantly higher levels of investment in the second quarter of 2015, compared with the firstquarter, with flow battery companies leading the way, according to a report by Mercom Capital Group.

Figures published in Mercom’s Smart Grid Fact Sheet from its Q2 2015 Funding and M&A Report, illustrate the bullish sentiment towards this sector as a growing number of renewable technologies are developed and linked to the grid.

Funding secured by battery/storage companies jumped to $126 million in the second quarter of 2015 compared with $69 million in Q1. Out of this $126 million raised in Q2, flow battery companies received nearly half of the total funding with $60 million.

However, total venture capital funding for smart grid companies was down sharply in Q2 of 2015 to $104 million compared to $185 million in the first quarter.

Out of technologies in the Smart Grid category, Data Analytics and Demand Response companies received the majority of funding with $35 million and $33 million, respectively. All of the other technologies combined raised $36 million.

“As more renewables penetrate the grid, these technologies will be crucial for grid stability. Additionally, demand charges in highly populated areas of the US increasingly necessitate stand-alone and PV-integrated energy storage for peak demand management,” said Raj Prabhu, CEO and co-founder of Mercom Capital Group.

“Companies developing energy storage technologies have gained a lot of visibility recently, due partially to the announcements by Tesla and other automotive companies entering the market. The other factor driving interest in the sector is government policies like the one in California which mandates that utilities add energy storage capacity.”