Total’s venture capital arm Total Energy Ventures invested in Stem, which helps manufacturers and services sector businesses reduce their electricity bills through an integrated solution that combines energy management software with advanced energy storage.

The energy stored in the battery can come from the grid or the photovoltaic panels.

The system switches automatically between the grid and the battery in real time, depending on parameters specific to the local electricity network, such as electricity rates and peak loads, which lowers the customers’ energy bills, relieves the strain on the grid during peak times and facilitates the adoption of decentralized renewable energy production solutions.

Bernard Clement, senior vice president, business and operations of Total New Energies, said the company believed that the combination of information technologies and energy storage solutions could “significantly reshape the way power is distributed and enable greater, more flexible use of renewable energies”

“This investment will contribute to research and development in innovative technologies that will help certain Total facilities and SunPower customers optimise their energy consumption,” he said.

The acquisition of an interest in Stem marks the 21st investment Total Energy Ventures since its creation in 2008 and its fifth in the area of smart grids and energy storage.

Lauding Total’s investment, Zacks investment research analyst blog said there was a pressing need to use energy sensibly, “since fossil fuel resources are both limited and polluting”.

“Energy optimisation technologies are thus coveted to meet rising power demand at affordable costs,” Zacks said.

“Alternate energy and renewable power sources are also a viable answer to our energy needs going forward.”

The US Environmental Protection Agency projects that energy efficiency, if implemented properly, could help reduce the country’s total energy demand by 20% by 2025.

“The appropriate usage of energy not only lowers energy costs but also cuts down on environmentally harmful emissions,” Zacks said.

The Total deal is yet another coup for Stem after Japanese solar module giant Kyocera announced in October it signed a non-exclusive agreement with the California start-up.

Stem will work through the Japanese player’s channels and sales force to pitch its core business proposition: batteries that inject power into buildings when they’re about to exceed certain thresholds that trigger expensive demand charges, pricing tier changes, or other components of a typical utility rate scheme for commercial customers that can ramp up bills.