dcbel Funding, Investors & Competitors

Northvolt was a Swedish battery manufacturer founded in 2015 to build the world's greenest, sustainably sourced lithium-ion batteries. Powered entirely by renewable energy (wind and hydro), Northvolt aimed to produce batteries with the lowest carbon footprint globally. Backed by heavyweights like Volkswagen and Goldman Sachs, it aimed to supply European automakers. However, facing severe scaling challenges and massive debt, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2024–2025.

Redwood Materials is a Sparks-headquartered battery recycling company founded in 2017 that recovers over 95 percent of critical materials like lithium, nickel, and cobalt from end-of-life electric vehicle batteries and manufacturing scrap. Operating a closed-loop facility in Nevada, it supplies refined metals to battery producers such as Panasonic and Ford while deploying second-life energy storage systems. The company processes thousands of tons monthly, reducing reliance on virgin mining.

SMA Solar Technology AG produces, develops, and sells systems and solutions for the efficient and sustainable generation, storage and use of solar energy. Its products include PV and battery inverters, monitoring systems for PV systems, charging solutions for electric vehicles as well as energy management systems, and digital services for the future energy supply. The company operates through the following segments; Home Solutions, Commercial & Industrial Solutions, and Large Scale & Project Solutions. The Large Scale & Project Solutions segment, which derives key revenue for the company, offers products, systems and solutions for industrial solar, storage and hydrogen projects as well as for the conversion of utility grids to a higher proportion of renewable energy.

Nanotech Energy is a materials supplier of graphene-based batteries and supercapacitors licensed from UCLA. Its graphene anodes enable charging in minutes and cycle lives exceeding traditional lithium-ion cells. Fremont-headquartered, the company produces conductive inks, antistatic coatings, and EMI shielding films for electronics and energy storage devices.

Tesla is a vertically integrated battery electric vehicle automaker and developer of real world artificial intelligence software, which includes autonomous driving and humanoid robots. The company has multiple vehicles in its fleet, which include luxury and midsize sedans, crossover SUVs, a light truck, and a semi truck. Tesla also plans to begin selling a sports car and offer a robotaxi service. Global deliveries in 2025 were nearly 1.64 million vehicles. The company sells batteries for stationary storage for residential and commercial properties including utilities and solar panels and solar roofs for energy generation. Tesla also owns a fast-charging network and an auto insurance business.

CATL, headquartered in Ningde, Fujian Province, is a global leading battery manufacturer founded in 2011. The company specializes in the development and production of lithium-ion batteries for EVs and energy storage systems. CATL is the largest EV battery manufacturer in the world and leads the industry in innovative battery technology development for higher-energy density and safety, longer battery service life and super-fast charging. CATL is also involved in the manufacturing of cathode and other related battery materials. Through its subsidiary Brunp, it works with customers to create a closed-loop battery life cycle from production, application, to recycling.

LG Energy Solution is the third-largest battery maker for electric vehicles with about 11% global share in 2024, according to SNE Research. The EV battery segment is the largest revenue contributor, which accounted for more than 60% of total revenue in 2024. LGES also manufactures batteries for mobility, mobile phones, laptops, electrical devices, and energy storage systems. The company was spun off from LG Chem’s battery division in December 2020 and listed on the Korea Exchange in January 2022. It has global manufacturing facilities in Korea, China, Poland, and the United States. Key customers include General Motors, Tesla, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Stellantis.

Vistra Corp. is one of the largest power producers and retail energy providers in the USA. It owns 44 gigawatts of generation capacity, including natural gas (27 GW), nuclear (6.5 GW), coal (8.7 GW), and solar and battery storage (1.4 GW). The Cogentrix acquisition will add 5.5 GW of gas generation. Vistra's retail electricity business serves 5 million customers in 20 states, including almost a third of all Texas electricity consumers. Vistra emerged from the Energy Future Holdings bankruptcy as a stand-alone entity in 2016.

First Solar designs and manufactures solar photovoltaic panels, modules, and systems for use in utility-scale development projects. The company's solar modules use cadmium telluride to convert sunlight into electricity. This is commonly called thin-film technology. First Solar is the world’s largest thin-film solar module manufacturer. It has production lines in Vietnam, Malaysia, the United States, and India.

SK on is a Seoul-headquartered battery maker producing prismatic and pouch lithium-ion cells for electric vehicles from its Gwangmyeong and Seosan plants. Spun off from SK Innovation in 2021, it supplies packs to Ford Mustang Mach-E and Hyundai Ioniq 5. The company advances 46-series cells with NCM cathodes and partners with Solid Power on solid-state tech. SK on targets 200 GWh capacity by 2025.

Nextpower (and its subsidiaries) is a leading provider of intelligent, integrated solar tracker and software solutions used in utility-scale and distributed generation solar projects around the world. Nextpower's products enable solar panels in utility-scale power plants to follow the sun’s movement across the sky and optimize plant performance. Nextpower has operations in the United States, Mexico, Spain and other countries in Europe, India, Australia, the Middle East, Africa, and Brazil.

Kraken is a London-headquartered customer engagement platform for energy, water, and broadband providers across Europe and North America. Its technology stack includes billing, CRM, self-service portals, and smart metering analytics to streamline operations. Kraken serves utilities like Octopus Energy and OVO, enabling net-zero transitions through demand response and EV charging management. The platform processes millions of customer interactions monthly, supporting regulatory compliance in deregulated markets.

Ecopro Co Ltd is engaged in the battery materials business, mainly serving the lithium-ion battery industry. The company operates through two reportable segments: Battery Materials business and Other business. The Battery Materials business segment focuses on cathode materials, the core components used in lithium-ion batteries, and also covers precursors, lithium, and recycling activities related to the cathode materials business.

Tongwei is the world's largest polysilicon producer and a leading solar cell and module supplier. The solar business contributed more than 60% of revenue in 2024. In addition, Tongwei runs a feed and food business, which made up 35% of revenue in 2024.

SVOLT Energy Technology is a Chinese electric-vehicle battery maker spun off from Great Wall Motors in 2018, specializing in cobalt-free and long-life solid-state batteries. The company operates production bases across multiple Chinese cities, including Changzhou, Suining, Huzhou, Ma'anshan, and Nanjing, with plans for manufacturing capacity in Europe. SVOLT supplies battery cells to automakers including Great Wall Motors, Geely, and Stellantis, and reported operating revenue of CNY 4.47 billion in 2021, up from CNY 1.74 billion in 2020.

Jinko Solar is the largest Chinese solar module manufacturer by global shipment in 2024. Jinko's products are distributed across nearly 200 countries and regions. The company operates a vertically integrated production process, spanning from solar wafer and cell manufacturing to module production. Jinko's N-type cell capacity is industry-leading in scale.

Sunwoda Electric Vehicle Battery is a provider of lithium-ion battery pack solutions for electric vehicles, leveraging proprietary battery management systems and automated production lines for cell sorting, module assembly, and pack integration. The company supplies new energy vehicle manufacturers with high-safety packs designed for passenger cars and commercial fleets.

Enphase Energy is a global energy technology company. It delivers smart, easy-to-use solutions that manage solar generation, storage, and communication on one platform. The company's microinverter technology primarily serves the rooftop solar market and produces a fully integrated solar-plus-storage solution. Enphase derives a majority of revenue from the United States.