From: Mercom Capital Group

Dragonfly Energy, a Lithium-Ion battery manufacturer, has entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination with Chardan NexTech Acquisition 2 Corp (CNTQ), a special purpose acquisition company, resulting in Dragonfly becoming a publicly-traded company on the NASDAQ. Upon closing the transaction, the combined company is expected to be listed on the NASDAQ under the new ticker symbol “DFLI.” The business combination values Dragonfly at $500 million pro forma enterprise value. The company plans to use the proceeds to accelerate the market penetration of its existing business and commercialize its proprietary and patented All-Solid-State-Battery technology.

Tokyo-based PowerX, a provider of power transfer technologies, has signed a definitive agreement to raise $33 million in the first half of the Series A financing round co-led by Spiral Capital and Nippon Gas. Other investors include Imabari Shipbuilding, NYK Line, MUFG Bank, Mitsui & Co, BEMAC Corporation, Japan Airlines & Translink Innovation Fund, L.P. (JAL Innovation Fund), Tokyo Century Corporation, Mizuho Capital, and Future Creation Capital. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities acted as a financial advisor and TMI Associates as a legal advisor to PowerX. The funding will be used to develop “Power Base,” PowerXʼs battery assembly facility, and energy storage solutions R&D efforts. The funding will also be used to expand human resources further and enhance the organizational structure.

U.S.-based equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) has signed an agreement to acquire the British power generation company ContourGlobal for approximately £1.75 billion (~$2.18 billion). KKR is a leading global investment firm with approximately $479 billion in assets under management as of March 2022. The deal was brokered through Cretaceous Bidco, a newly formed company indirectly owned by funds advised by KKR. The equity firm will pay £2.63 (~$3.25) for each share, which represents a premium of 36% to the closing share price on May 16.

Berlin-based startup Zolar, a platform that serves as an online configurator for planning and purchasing a rooftop PV system, raised €100 million (~$105.76 million) in a Series C funding round. The funding round was led by Energy Impact Partners and GIC and participation from existing investors, including Inven Capital, Heartcore Capital, Statkraft Ventures, and Pirate Impact Capital. The company intends to use the new funds to expand its business reach and roll out new digital energy products. The app will be expanded to include an energy management system and a dynamic electricity tariff.

Morrow Batteries, a Norwegian battery manufacturer, secures a € 100 million (~$106 million) investment led by Siemens Financial Services and ABB. Other investors in the round include Nysnø Climate Investments and Arendals Fossekompan, with existing shareholders Danish pension fund PKA, NOAH, and Agder Energi Invest. The investment will be used to finance the first phase of the company’s factory in Arendal, Norway, which is expected to have a production capacity of more than 1 GWh of battery cells each year.

An alternative investment manager, KGAL has acquired a majority stake in Italian renewables developer Baltex Progetti through its fund KGAL ESPF 5. Baltex Progetti has a pipeline of over 300 MW of wind and solar power projects in Italy. The solar projects are located in the Italian regions of Sardinia and Sicily, and the first phase of the projects is scheduled to be completed in 2026.

Ecofin U.S. Renewables Infrastructure Trust has raised aggregate gross proceeds of $13.1 million. The $10.8 million was raised pursuant to the placing, and £1.8 million (~ $2.3 million using the Relevant Sterling Exchange Rate) was raised pursuant to the REX Retail Offer. The company will issue a total of 12,927,617 shares at $1.015 per share, of which 10,687,323 will be issued pursuant to the placing and 2,240,294 pursuant to the REX Retail Offer.

An India-based sustainable investment firm SustVest has raised $160,000 from angel investors to enhance its presence in India’s clean energy market. The funding round was led by early-stage investors Paurush Sonkar of Stallions Capital, Balaji Vaidyanathan, and Sandeep Shetty. The investors will take a 15% per annum return from the income generated by the projects executed by SustVest. Investors will also hold digital ownership of the solar/EV (electric vehicle) assets, which would be leased to consumers.

Netherlands-based APG and OMERS Infrastructure, an investor and asset manager, signed an agreement to acquire Groendus from NPM Capital. Groendus is an energy transition platform in the Netherlands founded in 2021 by merging six companies in the rooftop solar, metering, and energy services spaces. APG’s investment is made on behalf of its pension fund client, ABP. OMERS Infrastructure is investing on behalf of OMERS, a Canadian public pension fund.

Optivolt, a provider of solar technology that enables self-powered IoT devices, 5G infrastructure, military equipment, robotics, and EVs, has raised $8 million in a seed funding round. Including the latest round, Optivolt has raised $10.1 million to date. The company plans to use the funds to expand its operations and business reach. Atlas Innovate led the funding round with Social Impact Capital, Pure Ventures, City Light Capital, and Peter Relan, an initial investor in Discord.

UtilityAPI, a utility data service provider, raised $10 million in a Series A funding round. Aligned Climate Capital led the funding round. The company plans to use new funds to expand its utility-level data-sharing platforms.

For reports and trackers on funding and M&A transactions in solar, energy storage, smart grid, and efficiency sectors, click here.

Read last week’s funding roundup.