US storage deals from Clarios–Maxwell, Fullmark, and the Colville Tribes show how green technology is maturing fast in hardware, finance, and community impact.
Why these three US deals matter for green technology
A 20MW battery in Palm Springs, a century-old tribe in Washington state, and a supercapacitor company that just changed hands again all point to the same thing: green technology is moving from pilots to permanent infrastructure.
This matters because climate targets don’t get met with press releases. They get met with hardware in the ground, tax equity that actually closes, and communities that gain real energy sovereignty instead of just “consultation.” The latest moves from Clarios–Maxwell, Fullmark Energy, and OATI with the Colville Tribes are a snapshot of how that shift is playing out in late 2025.
In this post, I’ll unpack what each deal means for energy storage, microgrids, and clean energy finance—and what you can learn from them if you’re building or funding green technology projects of your own.
1. Maxwell + Clarios: why ultracapacitors are back in the spotlight
The core story: Clarios has acquired Maxwell Technologies and will run it as an independent US-based business unit, doubling down on supercapacitors as part of the green technology stack.
Maxwell’s ultracapacitors aren’t new—but the context around them has changed.
What supercapacitors bring to green technology
Supercapacitors (or ultracapacitors) are brutally simple in what they’re good at:
- Very fast charge and discharge – essentially instant response
- High cycle life – up to 1,000,000 charge cycles
- Wide operating temperature – roughly -40°F to 149°F (-40°C to 65°C)
- Low maintenance and low fire risk – no complex fire protection systems
That combination makes them ideal for:
- Smoothing short, sharp grid fluctuations
- Protecting sensitive equipment in data centers and industrial plants
- Supporting automotive low-voltage systems (start-stop, power steering, ADAS)
- Military and harsh-environment applications where temperature swings are brutal
Where they’re weaker is energy density. They don’t store as much energy per kilogram as lithium-ion, so they don’t replace batteries; they sit alongside them.
Here’s the thing: as grids and vehicles become more electrified and AI workloads drive new peaks in demand, the need for ultra-fast response becomes more valuable. That’s where Maxwell under Clarios starts to make sense.
Why Clarios buying Maxwell matters now
Clarios already sits in a strategic spot—its low-voltage energy solutions are embedded across the automotive sector. By bolting Maxwell onto that platform, they’re doing three smart things:
- Building a more resilient supply chain in the US for supercapacitors at a time when domestic content requirements and “friend-shoring” rules are tightening.
- Expanding beyond automotive into data centers, grid edge, and industrial markets where fast-response storage is becoming critical.
- Creating hybrid solutions that pair batteries and ultracapacitors—high energy plus high power—exactly what high-performance EVs, AI data centers, and advanced microgrids will need.
Remember: Tesla bought Maxwell in 2019 mainly for its dry battery electrode (DBE) process, then sold the ultracapacitor business in 2021 while keeping the DBE tech. That move signaled that Tesla saw chemistry innovation as its competitive edge.
Clarios is betting in a different place: pragmatic, deployable storage hardware that solves real reliability problems today. I think that’s a good sign for anyone building green technology products that emphasize performance, reliability, and manufacturability over hype.
If you’re in:
- Automotive – expect more combo battery–supercapacitor solutions in 12V/48V systems.
- Data centers – watch for ultracap-based systems as part of power quality and backup designs.
- Grid projects – look at supercapacitors for frequency regulation and fault ride-through.
2. Fullmark’s US$46M ITC transfer: a blueprint for storage finance
The second big move is more financial than technical, but it’s just as important. Fullmark Energy has completed a US$46 million Investment Tax Credit (ITC) transfer tied to its 125MW/290MWh Redwood portfolio of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in California.
This is what “clean energy policy meets real-world capital” actually looks like.
What Fullmark actually did
Fullmark’s Redwood portfolio includes:
- San Jacinto BESS – 65MW/130MWh in Banning, California (COD in November 2025)
- Johanna BESS – 20MW/80MWh in Santa Ana (COD in October 2021)
- Desert-Carris BESS – 20MW/40MWh in Palm Springs
- Ortega BESS – 20MW/40MWh in Lake Elsinore
Together, the three newer projects added 105MW to Southern California Edison’s distribution system. Once the portfolio hit commercial operation, Fullmark closed a US$46 million ITC transfer with an industrial sector buyer, using the Inflation Reduction Act’s transferability provisions.
BDO USA advised on the tax credit transfer and compliance, and the portfolio had previously secured around US$100 million in funding via a term loan and letter of credit in early 2023.
So what’s the practical lesson here?
How ITC transferability is changing storage project economics
The IRA’s most underrated feature, in my view, is how it simplifies monetizing tax credits. Instead of needing a complex tax equity partnership structure, a developer can:
- Develop and build the project
- Reach COD and generate an eligible ITC
- Sell that tax credit to a company with tax appetite, usually at a discount
- Use that cash to recycle capital into more projects
Fullmark did exactly this. The outcome:
- Improved financial flexibility – more working capital to deploy into new BESS assets
- Shorter payback periods – because a portion of project value is realized quickly via the ITC sale
- Lower risk for the buyer – the tax credit buyer gets a defined tax benefit without needing to operate or understand a storage plant
For green technology developers and investors, this is a roadmap:
- If you’re a developer, you should be designing your projects with ITC transfer in mind from day one—documentation, compliance, and trusted advisory support.
- If you’re a corporate with tax liability, participating as a credit buyer is now a legitimate green finance strategy, not just philanthropy. You’re lowering your tax bill and enabling real storage capacity on the grid.
The foreign entity rule you can’t ignore
There’s a catch baked into the future. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act tightens rules around tax credits when components are produced under the “effective control” of specified foreign entities.
Starting in 2026:
- At least 55% of project costs must come from non-prohibited foreign entities
- That threshold rises to 75% by 2030 and beyond
Practically, that means supply chain choices today affect your ability to monetize ITCs tomorrow. If your storage system, inverters, or other components lean too heavily on restricted countries, you risk losing eligibility or killing the value of a future ITC transfer.
For anyone serious about scaling green technology in the US, supply chain strategy is no longer just an operations concern; it’s a core finance and policy risk.
3. Colville Tribes + OATI: microgrids as real energy sovereignty
The third story is where technology, justice, and resilience come together. The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in Washington state are partnering with Open Access Technology International (OATI) to deploy multiple microgrids across the reservation.
This isn’t a “nice to have” project. The Colville Reservation experiences frequent outages during winter storms and extreme heat, and many residents pay US$500–600 a month for power. That’s unsustainable—and frankly unacceptable.
What the tribal microgrid program includes
Under this partnership, OATI will deploy its GridMind platform to manage distributed resources and connect them to energy markets. The microgrid buildout is designed around energy sovereignty—the right of Indigenous nations to generate, manage, and benefit from energy on their own land.
Key sites include:
-
Nespelem HQ Campus (Lucy F. Covington Government Centre)
Rooftop solar PV, battery storage, EV charging, and microgrid controls are planned, with an eye toward evolving into a full resiliency hub for government and community services. -
Paschal Sherman Indian School (PSIS)
A community microgrid supporting both education and wider resilience, keeping learning and shelters powered during grid outages. -
Keller and Inchelium Districts
Additional distributed energy resources and microgrid infrastructure to harden local power against storms, wildfires, and service disruptions from multiple external utilities.
Future phases could include gaming operations and even data centers, tapping into tribal-owned utility and telecom infrastructure. That’s not just resilience—that’s economic development tied to clean energy assets.
As Chairman Jarred-Michael Erickson put it:
“Our hope is that this microgrid technology will not only keep our lights on, but will also position us for new economic opportunities.”
That’s exactly how green technology should work for frontline communities.
The bigger trend: tribal partnerships in microgrids
The Colville–OATI deal isn’t an isolated case. Across North America, there’s a clear trend of microgrid providers partnering with tribal nations to deploy clean energy systems on Indigenous land. Recent examples include:
- A zinc hybrid cathode battery system deployed via Faraday Microgrids on tribal land in California
- Microgrid manufacturer collaborations joining Indigenous-led alliances to become preferred providers for tribal and Aboriginal communities
This approach solves several problems at once:
- Grid resilience where legacy infrastructure is weak or distant
- High energy costs driven by remote locations and volatile fossil fuel prices
- Economic sovereignty through ownership of generation and participation in energy markets
If you’re in the microgrid or storage space and you’re not thinking about tribal partnerships, you’re leaving both impact and opportunity on the table.
4. What this means for your next green technology project
Pull these three stories together and a clear pattern emerges: the future of green technology is about integration—of hardware, finance, policy, and community.
Here’s how to apply these lessons directly.
For developers and project owners
-
Design for policy and finance from day one
Structure your projects to qualify for ITC and other incentives; keep supply chain content compliant so you don’t lose eligibility in 2026 and beyond. -
Think hybrid systems, not single assets
Batteries plus ultracapacitors, solar plus storage, microgrids plus market participation—the strongest projects combine technologies to solve real reliability and cost problems. -
Partner with communities, not just offtakers
Follow the Colville model: align projects with local resilience needs, economic opportunities, and long-term sovereignty goals. That’s how you get durable support.
For investors and corporate buyers
-
Use ITC transfers as part of your climate strategy
Buying investment tax credits from storage and microgrid projects is a concrete way to support decarbonization while improving your own tax position. -
Back technologies with clear roles in the grid stack
Ultracapacitors, BESS, and microgrids all solve different pieces of the reliability puzzle. The winners will be those that integrate smoothly and can be manufactured domestically at scale.
For policy and sustainability teams
-
Recognize the supply chain cliff coming after 2026
Start mapping where your critical components come from now. Adjust sourcing strategies so you’re not caught out when foreign entity restrictions tighten. -
Treat tribal and frontline communities as strategic partners
Not just stakeholders to consult. Their land, experience, and needs can anchor some of the most resilient and innovative green technology deployments in North America.
Where green technology goes from here
These US storage and microgrid deals show where green technology is heading as we close out 2025: hard assets, smarter financing, and deeper community integration.
Maxwell and Clarios are sharpening the technical side of the stack with ultracapacitors. Fullmark is showing how clean energy policy turns into bankable cash flows. The Colville Tribes and OATI are proving that microgrids can be tools for sovereignty, not just backup power.
If your organization is serious about clean energy, this is the playbook: build resilient technology, structure projects around real incentives, and make communities co-owners in the transition. The companies and tribes in these stories aren’t waiting for perfect conditions—they’re building the new energy system piece by piece.
The real question is how quickly the rest of the market will catch up.