The energy transition is a long-term endeavor, requiring strategic steps and persistent efforts. Swedish startup Greenely has seized a significant opportunity to accelerate this process.
The company has closed an €8 million Series A funding round to expand its energy management platform into neighboring Nordic countries, amounting to around $8.7M at current exchange rates.
Serving Thousands of Households
Currently, Greenely serves approximately 200,000 households in Sweden. The company offers a freemium model for energy consumption analytics alongside premium energy optimization services.
These services help paying customers achieve substantial savings on their electricity usage.
Examples include smart charging of electric vehicles during low energy price periods and obtaining government payouts by reducing energy demand through automated, aggregated optimization.
Expanding Services Beyond Current Limits
As of now, these energy optimization services are available only to customers who pay Greenely for energy supply.
However, the company plans to decouple this requirement with the implementation of new European legislation in Sweden, expected by the end of this year.
Adding Home Battery Solutions
Greenely also offers its energy customers the option to install home batteries, such as the Pixii Home. This feature allows households to store energy for later use, enabling them to respond to fluctuations in wholesale electricity prices and optimize grid usage to reduce costs.
The platform is also equipped to integrate and manage energy use for households with solar installations and heat pumps.
Leveraging Virtual Power Plant Technology
Paying customers gain access to a dynamic, hourly-priced electricity tariff and the ability to utilize Greenely’s “residential virtual power plant” (VPP) technology.
This system lets customers participate in stabilizing the electricity network and unlock revenue opportunities through government payouts by contributing to grid stability.
Saving and Generating Revenue
Neil Brooks, CEO and co-founder of Greenely, states, “Our customers save a lot of money by switching to our platform. The VPP technology enables them to generate revenue like never before.
We aggregate this on a large scale, stabilizing the national power grid and receiving government reimbursements, which we share with our customers. On average, households save €250 per year, with EV charging customers potentially saving up to €500 annually.”
Scaling Up Battery Storage
For customers with battery storage, there’s an additional revenue stream by supporting Greenely’s efforts to balance grid demand.
According to Brooks, if the VPP technology had been fully operational throughout 2023, users could have generated over €3,000 in balancing payments.
Although customers must consider the cost of the battery, Brooks asserts that households can recoup their investment in two to three years.
Building an Energy Platform
Greenely’s journey began a decade ago with the intention of enhancing the customer experience for energy utilities.
The company soon recognized an opportunity to build a comprehensive consumer experience for the future energy market, leading them to become an energy supplier.
The startup’s approach is comparable to UK’s Octopus Energy and local competitor Tibber, but Greenely aims to transcend direct competition as an energy supplier. Instead, it aspires to be an energy platform that even customers of rival suppliers can use to save money and generate revenue.
Decoupling for Greater Impact
Decoupling their service could position Greenely as an independent entity working to reduce customers’ energy bills and help them earn revenue.
This strategy allows for greater scalability, impacting energy management and demand across Europe, and potentially accelerating decarbonization efforts by incentivizing households to contribute.
Expanding Across Europe
Greenely plans to use the new funding to extend its platform to homeowners in Finland and Norway, leveraging a harmonized market for frequency balancing services.
The company also has its sights on other European markets with substantial smart meter uptake, such as France and the UK, although it’s currently not targeting Germany due to low smart meter penetration.
Brooks emphasizes, “Our ambition is to create the largest residential virtual power plant in Europe. This market is vast, with millions of homes in the Nordics alone. Our goal is to become the leading player in Europe.”
Series A Funding Details
Greenely’s Series A funding round was led by Belgian investment company Korys, with existing investor Luminar Ventures and other current shareholders also participating. To date, Greenely has raised around €15M, including this latest round and a €2.5M seed round in 2019.
Commenting on the funding, Korys’ Brieuc de Hults and Quentin Dupont stated, “Greenely is a remarkable company, poised to revolutionize household electricity consumption and contribute to a net-zero future. We are excited to support Tanmoy and the team in this next chapter of their journey.”