Financing activities in the PV sector started strong in 2021 with Q1 numbers rising substantially year-over-year, according to the latest update of Mercom Capital Group's report on funding and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity for the global solar sector. Total corporate funding, including venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing into the solar sector in Q1/2021, reached a total of $8.1 billion in 36 deals, a 21 percent increase compared to $6.7 billion raised in 43 deals in Q4 2020. Solar assets continue to be in great demand with almost 15 GW of projects acquired in Q1/2021, according to Mercom capital Group.

At the present, the global energy system is in the midst of a major transition to clean energy. The efforts of an ever-expanding number of countries and companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to net zero call for the massive deployment of a wide range of clean energy technologies, many of which in turn rely on critical minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements.