Global Energy Transition Investment Hit USD 2.3T in 2025

The IEA expects USD 1.5T of investment in the electricity sector in 2025, about 50% higher than spending on bringing oil, gas, and coal to market. This is evidence that capital is shifting from fuel supply to electrons, networks, and load growth. Yet the same IEA analysis flags the structural constraint: ~USD 400B/year is spent on grids globally versus ~USD 1T on generation assets.

On the demand side, electrification is already absorbing balance sheets at scale. BloombergNEF estimates USD 2.1T of global low-carbon energy transition investment in 2024, led by USD 757B in electrified transport and USD 390B in power grids. The signal is clear for corporate planners: the near-term spend is concentrating in mature deployment categories (EVs, renewables, grids, storage), while “harder” stacks still need de-risking and bankable offtake.

In parallel, the workforce requirement keeps widening – IRENA/ILO reports 16.6M renewable energy jobs in 2024 (up 2.3% YoY). This underscores that electrification execution is constrained as much by skills and supply chains as by technology readiness.

Electrification Demand Snapshot: 3.5M More EVs Sold in 2024 Than 2023

Our database tracks 7731 electrification companies, out of which 891 are startups. The yearly industry growth is 2.07%. This fits with the growth of the market as a whole – the global electrification market is expected to reach USD 209.01 billion by 2034 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9%.

These companies own a total of around 101 800 patents.

 

Most Patent-Active Fields, 2024

Source: EPO’s Patent Index 2024

 

At the same time, IEA’s World Energy Employment 2024 reports that more than 67 million people work in the energy sector around the world. IRENA’s renewable energy and jobs review 2024 notes that renewable energy employment reached 16.2 million jobs in 2023, up from 13.7 million in 2022.

 

 

Activity is mostly focused on well-known centers for innovation and energy. The USA, India, the UK, Canada, and Germany are the top country hubs. London, New York City, San Francisco, Bengaluru, and Los Angeles are the main innovation hubs.

Further, the European Commission’s Action Plan for Grids frames the EU’s electrification bottleneck in infrastructure terms. Europe’s electricity network spans >11 million km, 40% of distribution grids are over 40 years old, and the Commission estimates EUR 584 billion in electricity grid investment by 2030.

Beyond the >USD 600 billion per year by 2030 investment need, grid-related technical/equipment failures caused at least USD 100 billion in global economic losses in 2021.

 

 

Where New Entrants Actually Win: Solving the USD 400B Grid Spend Gap

Electrified Thermal Solutions builds Thermal Batteries

Electrified Thermal Solutions is a US-based company developing thermal batteries that generate and store high-temperature heat for industrial use.

The company’s Joule Hive technology uses electrically and thermally conductive firebricks arranged inside an insulated steel container to convert electricity into heat and store that heat at high temperatures. It then discharges it by passing air or another gas through the brick channels to deliver consistent industrial-grade heat to boilers, furnaces, kilns, or turbines.

By using commodity materials and collaborating with established firebrick manufacturers, the company’s approach reduces complexity, supports scalability, and lowers cost. Further, the company’s thermal battery delivers near-flame temperatures for hard-to-abate sectors like steel, cement, glass, and chemical manufacturing.

Amperesand makes Solid-State Transformer (SST) Power Infrastructure

Amperesand is a Singapore-based startup that develops solid-state transformer power infrastructure. It modernizes how medium-voltage electricity is converted, controlled, and delivered for critical applications like data centers, electric vehicle charging, and grid electrification.

The company’s integrated SST modules use advanced silicon carbide semiconductor devices and high-frequency power electronics. They replace legacy passive transformers with compact, intelligent, and highly efficient power conversion systems. The modules also provide rapid grid integration, bidirectional power flow, and dynamic voltage regulation.

This architecture reduces installation complexity and footprint, enables faster deployment of high-power infrastructure, and supports intelligent energy management with cyber-secure connectivity.

The company has also accelerated growth with strategic investments – including a USD 80 million Series A co-led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and Temasek.

Calectra offers Electrified Thermal Storage

US-based company Calectra builds electrified thermal storage systems to generate and supply high-temperature process heat for heavy manufacturing. It converts low-cost, off-peak electricity into stored heat in proprietary ceramic bricks to deliver that heat on demand.

The company’s on-site thermal battery charges for 4-8 hours, stores heat at high temperatures in its heater/storage ceramic material, and continuously delivers controlled high-temperature heat.

Calectra’s technology integrates resistive heating and thermal storage in a single ceramic medium. This eliminates conventional heat exchangers and enables scalable heat output. The battery finds applications in the heavy industry, including steel, cement and lime, glass, chemicals, aluminum, and other non-ferrous metals.

CELECTIS provides Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Systems

CELECTIS is a Swiss company that offers solid oxide fuel cell systems. They generate high-efficiency, high-temperature electric power for distributed and industrial energy applications.

The company’s SOFC stacks utilize ceramic electrolytes and proprietary cell architectures to convert fuels like hydrogen, ammonia, and biogas into electricity. It operates at elevated temperatures to enable internal fuel reforming, high electrical efficiency, and combined heat-and-power integration.

CELECTIS’ design leverages ceramic materials, optimized flow channels, and modular stack configurations. This approach ensures stable performance, extends operating lifetime, and supports multi-fuel compatibility. It also features rapid thermal cycling capability and integration with power electronics for precise load control and grid interaction.

These features streamline deployment, reduce operational complexity, and enable both stationary and mobile use cases. As a result, the company supports industrial decarbonization and expands access to clean, distributed power generation.

Anode Technology offers Microgrid Solutions

Anode Technology is a US-based startup that builds a microgrid platform. It enables local electricity generation, storage, and management for commercial, industrial, and community-scale sites.

The platform combines solar, battery storage, and intelligent controls to deliver resilient, cost-stable, and grid-interactive power. It incorporates distributed energy resources (DERs) into a unified system to balance real-time supply and demand, optimize battery dispatch, and maintain power continuity during outages.

Further, the company’s control software manages load prioritization, demand response participation, and islanding to ensure stable operation across varying grid conditions.

Top Trends: Fuel Cells, Microgrids, and Thin-Film Panels

 

 

1. Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs)

Fuel cell EVs form a focused but significant niche in the electrification landscape. Our database tracks 619 FCEV companies with a combined workforce of about 181 900 employees. Headcount grew by only 16 employees in the last year, and the annual trend growth rate of 1.95% points to steady expansion.

Market data, however, shows strong value growth from a small base. According to Precedence Research, the global FCEV market size is expected to reach USD 234.04 billion by 2034, at a 41.82% CAGR.

This gap between firmographic and revenue growth reflects early scaling in select projects and fleets rather than broad-based adoption.

Hydrogen Insights 2024 reports that around 90 000 fuel cell vehicles were on the road in 2024, and about 160 FCEV models were marketed by OEMs. There was also a shift towards trucks, buses, and other high-utilization vehicles.

As a result, the segment grows quickly where hydrogen production and refueling networks emerge, while remaining constrained elsewhere by high capital and infrastructure requirements.

2. Microgrids

Microgrids stand out as one of the most active segments by company count. Our database has 3667 microgrid companies employing about 344 000 people. The domain added 103 employees in the last year. The yearly growth rate of 5.29% signals healthy expansion.

Precedence Research estimates that the global microgrid market will reach USD 236.18 billion by 2034.

Use cases os microgrids include resilience, decentralization, and renewable integration. Commercial and industrial sites, campuses, and communities deploy microgrids to manage outages, integrate on-site renewables, and optimize energy costs. Remote and rural areas use microgrids for reliable power access.

3. Thin-Film Solar Panels

Thin-film solar panels form a smaller but faster-growing niche within electrification. The database lists 134 companies in this area, employing around 5500 people. Only one new employee was added in the last year. Still, the yearly trend growth rate of 6.54% indicates rising activity and interest.

Thin-film covers cadmium telluride (CdTe), CIGS, and emerging perovskite-based architectures. These technologies enable building-integrated photovoltaics (PVs), curved or low-load roofs, vehicle integration, and other non-standard surfaces.

As regulatory pressure and net-zero building codes expand markets for building-integrated and design-sensitive solar, firmographic growth in thin film reflects both innovation intensity and the gradual scaling of these specialized deployments.

Funding Landscape: Record USD 2.3T Energy Transition Investment in 2025

There was a total of USD 2.3 trillion in energy transition investments in 2025, with USD 893 billion in electrified transport, USD 690 billion in renewables, and USD 483 billion in grids.

IEA predicted that the global clean energy technologies and infrastructure investment will reach USD 2 trillion in 2024, and a substantial portion of it will go to areas like renewables, grids, electric transportation, and efficiency technology.

More than 4066 investors have put money into companies that focus on electrification based on our data. Our database also has information on more than 4200 fundraising rounds that ended with more than 1186 companies.

This dispersion shows that capital goes to a lot of different companies, not just a few market leaders. PwC research also reveals consistent deal counts in recent years, with a growing share of later-stage and asset-heavy transactions.

The US Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program is sized at USD 10.5 billion to fund grid resilience and innovation. This is a useful context for vendors positioning advanced conductors, grid-enhancing technologies, sensors, and DERMS/VPP enablement.

Investors in electrification-adjacent segments tend to make large circular sizes. Enterprises are focusing on EV charging infrastructure, long-term energy storage, grid technology, and reliable low-carbon power.

 

What’s Included and Excluded

This electrification outlook used the StartUs Insights Discovery Platform to analyze 9M+ companies, 25K+ technologies and trends, and 190M+ patents, news articles, and market reports. The scope is defined around electrification enablers – the hardware, software, and infrastructure layers that convert, move, and optimize electrical energy at scale – rather than treating electrification as a catch-all label for clean tech.

As a result, the analysis concentrates on grid modernization and power delivery (T&D equipment, grid-edge control, interconnection solutions), distributed energy systems (microgrids, storage-backed resiliency), end-use electrification platforms (charging ecosystems, electrified industrial processes), and conversion technologies (power electronics, inverters, motors, control stacks).