Best Energy Tech Companies in Illinois, United States
The 152 best Energy Tech companies in Illinois, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: SMS Assist.
Our analysis of 79 Energy Tech companies
$38.9b in tracked funding; 92% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Energy Tech companies in Illinois
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Employees | Founder | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMS Assist 🦄 Provider of SaaS-driven maintenance management solutions for commercial spaces | $255M | 120 mo ago | Acquired | 782 | Jay McKee CEO | Apple iCloud MailEnvoyBootstrap+8 | 4 patents Software algorithms for defining and managing geographic service area boundaries | — |
| 2 | Anovion Provider of synthetic graphite anode material | $117M | 35 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | Clay Kiefaber CEO | — | — | — |
| 3 | Synata Bio Provider of ethonol products | $77M | 19 mo ago | Series A | 28 | Tim Cesarek CEO | WordPressMySQLPHP+23 | — | — |
| 4 | NanoGraf Developer of silicon-based anode materials for lithium-ion battery performance enhancement | $70M | 21 mo ago | Acquired | 40 | Samir Mayekar Co-Founder & CEO | Cart FunctionalitySquarespace CommerceSquarespace+19 | 65 patents Silicon‑oxide anodes with metal‑oxide coatings and carbon nanomaterial composites for Li‑ion batteries | — |
| 5 | Azumo Manufacturer of front-lit liquid crystal technology for displays | $56M | 49 mo ago | Series B | 41 | — | WordPressMySQLPHP+24 | 43 patents Film-based lightguide backlighting and edge‑light management for displays and privacy modes | — |
| 6 | Flexterra Flexible Developer of flexible transistors for the semiconductor industry | $56M | 70 mo ago | Series B | 9 | Fabrizio Doni Chairman & CEO | — | — | — |
| 7 | Univa Data center optimization and HPC workload management solution | $46M | 107 mo ago | Acquired | 12 | — | — | — | — |
| 8 | Cohesion Provider of a platform for smart building management and operations 48Growth top 20%Funding top 35%Tech top 37%Talent top 38% All 12 signals ▾Growthtop 20% Fundingtop 35% Techtop 37% Talenttop 38% Moattop 41% Producttop 47% Globalbottom 40% Innovationbottom 36% Marketbottom 35% Patentsbottom 34% Newsbottom 21% Customersbottom 9% Growth: Headcount 21 → 44 (+110%) across vintages · 1 acquisition/expansion move in 24 mo Funding: Raised $30.2M across 4 rounds · 4 rounds over 6 yrs (0.7/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 48/100 | $30M | 6 mo ago | Series A | 44 | Nick Lawrence Co-Founder | WebflowZohoZepto+25 | 3 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 9 | NuCurrent Developer of chip modules for wireless charging 69Innovation top 10%Patents top 13%Funding top 17%Moat top 21% All 10 signals ▾Innovationtop 10% Patentstop 13% Fundingtop 17% Moattop 21% Techtop 39% Growthtop 43% Talentbottom 49% Marketbottom 41% Globalbottom 40% Newsbottom 22% Innovation: 728 patents (top 3% of patent-holders) · 541 filings since 2022 vs 133 in 2017-21 Patents: 728 patents matched (strict assignee match) · 541 filings since 2022 vs 133 in 2017-21 rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 69/100 | $22M | 9 mo ago | Series C | 37 37 → 45 (+22%) | Jacob Babcock CEO and Founder | WordPressMySQLPHP+33 | 728 patents Industrial IoT wireless power and data transfer with multimode antenna technologies | 1 launch |
| 10 | RedWave Energy Provider of energy generation solution from IR | $19M | 84 mo ago | Series B | 13 | — | — | — | — |
| 11 | Fuel Me Cloud-based platform offering fuel delivery services | $18M | 28 mo ago | Series A | 43 | Boy Schook Co-Founder & COO | WordPressMySQLPHP+20 | 6 patents Compact ethanol micro-refinery technology with integrated distillation level sensing | — |
| 12 | TruMarx Cloud based online transaction platform for energy products | $16M | 91 mo ago | Series B | 12 | Jon Olson Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer | — | — | — |
| 13 | ElectronX Provider of grid management solution | $15M | 7 mo ago | Series A | — | Evan Caron Co-Founder | SanityApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+19 | — | 1 launch · 1 expansion |
| 14 | FreshAir Sensor Developer of an air-sensor device to detect tobacco and marijuana smoke 55Talent top 22%Moat top 31%Innovation top 35%Growth top 35% All 10 signals ▾Talenttop 22% Moattop 31% Innovationtop 35% Growthtop 35% Fundingtop 38% Patentstop 38% Producttop 40% Techtop 48% Marketbottom 32% Globalbottom 31% Talent: Analyst team rating 5/5 · 3 named leaders on record Moat: Editorial + unicorn rating 7/10 · IP moat: 15 patents rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 55/100 | $12M | 18 mo ago | Series B | 36 | John O'Toole Co-Founder | WordPressMySQLPHP+30 | 15 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 15 | Bedrock Developer of materials for sodium-ion batteries | $9M | 25 mo ago | Seed | — | Rafael Vila Co-Founder | — | 9 patents Integrated standby fuel storage systems combined with data analytics and security solutions | — |
| 16 | Cache Energy Developer of ultra-long duration thermal energy storage for electrified heat | $8M | 24 mo ago | Seed | 8 | Arpit Dwivedi Founder | WordPressMySQLPHP+17 | — | 1 partnership |
| 17 | Grid Status Cloud based dashboard creation software for energy industry | $8M | 21 mo ago | Series A | — | Connor Waldoch Co-Founder | GhostNode.jsVarnish+14 | — | 2 launchs |
| 18 | Buildings As Batteries Developer of thermal energy storage system for commercial building applications | $8M | 95 mo ago | Series A | — | Gregor Henze Co-Founder | — | — | — |
| 19 | Goby SaaS-driven platform offering energy management solutions | $7M | 64 mo ago | Acquired | 33 | — | — | 2 patents Modular hygienic inductive charging stands for handheld electronic devices | — |
| 20 | Mezo Provider of AI-powered property maintenance software | $6M | 42 mo ago | Acquired | 29 | Mike Travalini Co-Founder & CEO | SentryFirebasestyled-components+15 | 4 patents AI-powered chatbot platforms for automated maintenance diagnostics and repair troubleshooting | — |
| 21 | Celadyne Manufacturer of nano based fuel cells | $5M | 28 mo ago | Seed | 8 | Gary Ong Founder & CEO | — | 3 patents Advanced ion‑exchange polymer‑ceramic membranes for electrochemical separation and energy devices | — |
| 22 | Intelligent Generation Virtual power plant networked software platform | $4M | 49 mo ago | Seed | 9 | Paul Gazzolo Co-founder and Board Member | — | — | 1 job opening · 1 partnership |
| 23 | Volexion Developer of graphene encapsulation technology for lithium-ion cathode active materials | $3M | 12 mo ago | Seed | 5 | — | — | — | — |
| 24 | Sigora International Provider of smart micro grid platform and smart meters | $3M | 102 mo ago | Seed | 36 | Andy Bogdan Bindea Founder & CEO | — | — | — |
| 25 | PowerWorld Developer of power system simulation software for analysis and training | $3M | 152 mo ago | Funding Raised | 25 | — | WordPress Block EditorWordPressMySQL+12 | — | — |
| 26 | Athena Global Energy Solutions Provider of renewable energy and environmentally sustainable technology commercialization services | $3M | 153 mo ago | Seed | — | Robert Shambora CEO | — | — | — |
| 27 | Indie Energy Provider of geothermal heating and cooling solutions | $2M | 199 mo ago | Funding Raised | 8 | Eric Schrock CEO | — | — | — |
| 28 | Eta Vision Offers data center energy management solutions | $2M | 95 mo ago | Seed | 8 | Michael Lingle CEO & Cofounder | — | — | — |
| 29 | iTRACS AI-enhanced DCIM solution for smarter, data-driven infrastructure management | $2M | 194 mo ago | Acquired | 15 | James Sherrin CEO & Director | WordPressMySQLPHP+11 | 33 patents Monitoring and diagnosing data port connection patterns in hardware interfaces | — |
| 30 | Digital H2O Online oilfield water management and marketplace platform. | $1M | 146 mo ago | Acquired | 11 | — | — | — | — |
| 31 | AllCell Technologies Lithium-ion battery packs and thermal management solutions | $1M | 79 mo ago | Acquired | 30 | — | — | — | — |
| 32 | PVPower An online marketplace for solar PV equipment | $1M | 174 mo ago | Acqui-Hired | 14 | Dan Kuthy Co-Founder | — | — | — |
| 33 | Everpurse Wire-free charging purses blending fashion and technology for the modern woman | $1M | 145 mo ago | Seed | 4 | — | — | 6 patents Wireless power transfer mats for personal electronic device charging | — |
| 34 | Midtronics Battery Management Solutions | $480K | 191 mo ago | Funding Raised | 145 145 → 224 (+54%) | — | Cart FunctionalityWooCommerceWordPress+38 | 259 patents Battery health monitoring, testing, and maintenance systems for electric vehicles | — |
| 35 | Celadyne Developer of advanced hydrogen membrane technology for fuel cells and electrolyzers | $450K | 1 mo ago | Seed | — | Gary Ong Founder & CEO | Webflow EcommerceWebflowPlausible+12 | 3 patents Advanced ion‑exchange and protective polymer‑ceramic membranes for electrochemical separations | — |
| 36 | blip Provider of smart energy storage solutions for residential building | $250K | 33 mo ago | Seed | 9 | Thibaut Feremans Co-Founder | Cart FunctionalitySquarespace CommerceSquarespace+11 | 4 patents Distributed energy storage/demand-response systems and dynamic multimedia playlist generation | — |
| 37 | Influit Energy Nanoelectrofuel technology for liquid fuel | $225K | 114 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | Carlo Segre Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer | — | — | — |
| 38 | Digital Dipstick Manufacturer and supplier of Fitbit for tractors | $225K | 96 mo ago | Deadpooled | — | Allan Dikeman Co-Founder | — | — | — |
| 39 | Syndem Democratizing smart grids with synchronized inverters for stable, reliable power systems | $206K | 71 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | Qing-Chang Zhong Founder & CEO | — | — | — |
| 40 | SmarterShade Developer of user-controlled, powerless, affordable smart glass for privacy and energy | $200K | 157 mo ago | Seed | 2 | Will McLeod Founder | — | 14 patents Smart adaptive windows using mechanically actuated variable light transmission technology | — |
| 41 | Route SaaS-driven business management platform for the building services industry | $100K | 47 mo ago | Funding Raised | 11 | Ricardo Regalado Founder & CEO | WordPress Site EditorElementorWordPress+32 | 5 patents Remote desktop access solutions and email message rerouting technologies | — |
| 42 | NETEnergy Provider of thermal energy storage solutions | $100K | 134 mo ago | Funding Raised | 6 | Said Al-Hallaj CEO | — | — | — |
Top 12 Energy Tech companies in Illinois
#1
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2018 · 44 employees$30.2Mraised▾
Provider of a platform for smart building management and operations. The platform offers solutions for access control, experience enhancement, and maintenance. It consolidates data from building systems, software, and sensors into a unified platform. The platform also provides advisory services for planning, solution design, and system integrations.
- Nov 2025Series A$250K
- Nov 2021Series A$15M
- Jul 2021Seed$7M
- Jul 2020Seed$8.2M
#2
Series C · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2009 · 37 employees$22.1Mraised▾
NuCurrent is a fabless semiconductor company which develops high-efficiency antennas for wireless charging applications. It sells both pre-designed / customized antenna modules to OEMs to be integrated into their devices. Their product range also covers surface-mount inductors or induction heating coils.
- Sep 2025Series C$982.4K
- May 2024Series C$100K
- Sep 2023Series C$1.1M
- Nov 2022Series C$3.5M
#3
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2022$15Mraised▾
Provider of grid management solution. It offers solutions to enable precision risk management, volatility hedging opportunities, and the monetization of power assets. It offers derivative products that capture the intraday price fluctuations of the changing electrical grid helping to smooth the financial path of clean energy adoption across the nation.
- Nov 2025Series A$36.5M
- Feb 2025Seed$10M
- Jun 2024Seed$15M
#4
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2012 · 40 employees$70.5Mraised▾
Developer of silicon-based anode materials for lithium-ion battery performance enhancement. The company’s technology aims to replace graphite anodes in lithium-ion batteries. This replacement is intended to improve performance for applications ranging from military to consumer uses. The silicon oxide-based anode materials are designed for extended electric vehicle range.
- Sep 2024Grant (prize money)$60M
- Jan 2023Series B$65M
- Jul 2020Grant (prize money)$1.6M
- Feb 2019Series A$5.5M
#5
Series A · Warrenville, Illinois · founded 2015 · 28 employees$77Mraised▾
Provider of ethonol products. It is a technology company that converts waste-based carbon into products using a fermentation process. Its proprietary process captures and repurposes CO2 emissions, converting it into carbon-negative ethanol and other products.
#6
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2013$449.6Kraised▾
Developer of advanced hydrogen membrane technology for fuel cells and electrolyzers. This technology improves fuel cell and electrolyzer efficiency and durability, lowering hydrogen production costs and expanding its use in defense, industry, and heavy-duty transport. The company offers membranes designed for both fuel cells and electrolyzers, addressing key challenges in hydrogen production and utilization. It also participates in collaborative initiatives to develop tailored electrolyzer solutions for various sectors.
- May 2026Seed$250K
- May 2025Grant (prize money)$199.6K
#7
Series B · Lebanon, Illinois · founded 2013 · 36 employees$11.8Mraised▾
Developer of an air-sensor device to detect tobacco and marijuana smoke. It provides a two-plug adapter that fits over existing wall outlets and leverages Wi-Fi to send infraction information to a central monitoring system, which results in an email to the admin. Its device comprises polymer sensors that detect specific airborne chemicals like the biological receptors in the human body that is by binding only with the target molecule, making them sensitive and specific and resetting when the target molecules are cleared. It also provides an app that allows users to monitor the detection of smoke.
- Nov 2024Series B$3.7M
- May 2023Series A$1M
- Sep 2019Grant (prize money)$1.5M
- Jan 2019Series A$3.5M
#8
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2018 · 5 employees$3.2Mraised▾
Developer of graphene encapsulation technology for lithium-ion cathode active materials. The company's composite material is commercially manufactured with bio-based capability. It offers cathode active material encapsulation delivering increased cycle life. The materials are drop-in and compatible with current and next-generation lithium-ion manufacturing. Applications include consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and next-generation materials.
- Jun 2025Seed$1.4M
- Mar 2025Grant (prize money)$1.5M
- Apr 2023Seed$961.2K
- Apr 2021Seed$2.2M
#9
Funding Raised · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2021$117Mraised▾
Provider of synthetic graphite anode material. It employs graphitization technology to produces high crystallinity and low impurities by heating the product at very high temperature.
- Jul 2023Grant (prize money)$117M
- 2021PE—
#10
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2023$8Mraised▾
Cloud based dashboard creation software for energy industry. It is a real-time monitoring platform that provides data and insights on the electric grid. It offers a centralized hub for tracking energy supply, demand, and pricing across independent system operators. It allows users to visualize the data using graphs. The platform provides insights that assist teams to make data-driven decisions.
- Aug 2024Series A$8M
#11
Seed · Champaign, Illinois · founded 2021 · 8 employees$8.5Mraised▾
Developer of ultra-long duration thermal energy storage for electrified heat. The technology features a simple design with no moving parts in the charger or discharger. It offers flexibility, enabling storage from hourly to annually, providing resiliency, and tunable output temperature. The fuel material is stable, abundant, and does not react to flame, heat, or cold, allowing for room temperature storage. The system unfolds and sets up quickly and can integrate into existing processes. The fuel can be transported for charging and discharging at different locations.
- Jun 2024Seed$8.5M
- Jun 2023Seed—
- Sep 2022Seed—
- 2021Seed—
#12
Series A · Burr Ridge, Illinois · founded 2020 · 43 employees$18.5Mraised▾
Cloud-based platform offering fuel delivery services. The platform is designed to streamline the procurement process for fuel, lubricants, and other related products and services within the transportation and construction industries, among others. Its objective is to simplify the ordering and delivery process for businesses requiring bulk fuel.
- Feb 2024Series A$18.5M
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Energy Tech coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Energy Storage in Illinois is moving
A read on the academic research around Energy Storage in Illinois — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 123 papers.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, and UIC lead Illinois's optimistic (mean stance 0.55) energy-storage research, dominated by advanced battery materials and technologies.
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign42
- Illinois Institute of Technology41
- University of Illinois Chicago18
- Northern Illinois University10
- Illinois State University4
- Electrolyte1→12
- Electrochemistry1→12
- Battery (electricity)2→9
- Anode1→6
- Supercapacitor1→4
- Renewable energy3→14
- Battery (electricity)4→10
- Electric power system3→7
- Grid1→5
- Electricity generation1→3
- Electrolyte4
- Hydrogen storage3
- Nanotechnology2
- Renewable energy2
- Electric power system2
Common questions
Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.