Axiom Exergy, a US manufacturer of energy storage units that use stored energy for cooling buildings and produce, has netted close to US$8 million from investors including Shell’s venture capital unit and Tesla battery guru JB Straubel.

Sunamp, a maker of heat batteries from Scotland, UK, was recently selected to go on a special mission to showcase its wares in China as one of a number of startups. Maurizio Zaglio from the company talks about his experiences in Shenzhen.