European BESS startups expand value proposition as competition grows
European startups manufacturing Battery Energy Storage Systems have raised €331.8 million in equity funding to date, with 75% of the companies estimated to have reached a phase of commercial maturity, according to new research from Avnet Silica.
The majority of the funding (€236 million) has gone into Lithium-based BESS, with Flow batteries attracting a further €76.1 million in funding. The remaining funds have been allocated between Sodium-based BESS (just over €880,000), Zinc-based BESS (€1.8 million), and Hybrid battery systems (€17 million).
But beyond the different technologies being offered, how else are BESS providers setting themselves apart from the competition? What additional value are they offering to the end consumer for commercial, industrial, or grid-scale projects?
Avnet Silica analysed information about European BESS startups listed under the energy storage category on Crunchbase to discover the range of additional software and services each company provides to enhance its value proposition. The study also reveals how companies are distinguishing themselves through sustainable manufacturing practices.
57% of BESS providers promote turnkey service
57% of BESS providers advertise a turnkey service, which mainly refers to installation and systems integration. A much smaller proportion (5%) specifically promote project development services, with 8% offering EPC, i.e. construction of the site for installation. 13% also offer operations & maintenance as a service.
65% of BESS startups optimise value with added software
65% of all BESS startups offer additional software; 57% include site-level Energy Management Systems (EMS), while 7% provide Virtual Power Plant (VPP) or Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) across multiple sites. 39% offer asset monitoring & predictive maintenance, and 32% provide analytics and optimisation software solutions.
25% of BESS startups highlight sustainable credentials
While energy storage solutions will play a crucial role in the utilisation of renewable energy, the sustainability of their production is also a significant consideration. A quarter of BESS manufacturers promote the use of recyclable materials, and 18% offer products with second-life batteries, some as an option and others exclusively. 14% mention low-carbon manufacturing on their websites, and 9% make note of their local sourcing practices.
Still lots of room to establish market presence
Reflecting on the findings, Harvey Wilson, Senior Manager Industrial Vertical Markets EMEA at Avnet Silica, comments:
“It’s great to see so many European startups entering the battery energy storage space, and interesting to note the different strategies they’re taking to establish a foothold in the market.
The software layer is a valuable area where hardware manufacturers can expand their offerings. With many different providers of both hardware and software vying for inclusion in energy storage projects, ease of integration will be a key consideration for project developers of large-scale BESS installations.
There’s also considerable opportunity for differentiation within the hardware offering itself. With numerous innovative power electronics products entering the market, both in the supply chain and in new applications, companies are competing across size, weight, efficiency, power density, and more. Startups will have to choose wisely how they balance and prioritise across these factors.
While the flow of funding indicates where investors are placing their bets, the future of energy storage remains a wide-open space, and the specific technologies and businesses that will emerge and lead the way into the next decade and beyond have yet to be determined.
Competition is ramping up, but this is an area of high growth, there’s lots of room to play, and it’s an exciting time for engineers designing in this space.”
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Data story
European energy storage hardware startups raise €2.14B
Total equity funding for European startups in energy storage hardware has topped €2.14 billion. 46.7% of the 2.14 billion was raised in the last three years, and 84.4% in the last five, reveals research from Avnet Silica.
DATA SOURCES & METHODOLOGY
Source: All companies listed under energy storage in the Crunchbase dataset with headquarters in Europe, as at 22nd September 2025.
Further research was conducted by visiting each company’s website, its profile on Crunchbase, its LinkedIn profile, and third-party news articles to provide more granular details on the product and service offerings of each business. This allowed further categorisation of the companies in the list into more specific classifications.
The analysis then focused on startups specialising in the production of energy storage hardware for commercial, industrial and grid-level applications.
This involved excluding companies that are focused on, for example, energy and commodities trading, project development, software companies, residential energy storage, and other closely related products and services.
Disclosed equity funding includes seed, angel, VC, private equity and corporate funding rounds. It does not include equity crowdfunding. It also excludes grants, debt financing, IPO and post-IPO funding.
