- 29
- August
2022
Enphase Energy acquires GreenCom Networks and Lunar Energy acquires Moixa
Exciting exit times for the Ecosummit community and joyful reasons to celebrate 2 happy endings of the famous startup investor relationship: On 29 August 2022, Enphase Energy announced its acquisition of GreenCom Networks and, on 24 August 2022, Sunrun announced that Lunar Energy acquired Moixa. Both exits are very similar: 2 US-based public solar energy companies are buying European startups to grab established software products, local teams and customers and accelerate their market expansion on the continent. GreenCom Networks first pitched at Ecosummit Berlin 2016 and Moixa at Ecosummit London 2014 and both smart green startups had many Ecosummit investors in their cap tables.
Read more- 8
- February
2022
Sunvigo raises €10M Series A led by Eneco Ventures
Finding the perfect lead investor is the most important milestone in venture capital financing rounds. In March 2021, we introduced Sunvigo to Eneco Ventures and started another promising relationship. As a result, our ecoportfolio company has successfully closed its €10M Series A led by the corporate VC arm of the Dutch utility. The second new Series A investor is Sparta Capital, a London-based multi-strategy fund with $500M assets under management (AUM) focused on smart green investments decarbonising our economy. The seed investors Übermorgen Ventures, Ecosummit and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), as well as a private real estate investor that joined in summer 2021, also make follow-on investments in the A round. The Cologne-based startup is a smart solar utility that bundles PV system, battery, asset financing, installation, operations, maintenance and insurance into one simple power contract and electricity tariff for homeowners in Germany, a very useful value proposition when energy prices are skyrocketing.
Read more- 24
- August
2021
Installion raises €4M Series A led by Eneco Ventures
The energy transition is a hands-on job because somebody has to install all the hardware needed for making, storing and charging solar energy at the customers’ premises. It turns out that finding a good installer can be anything from very tough to simply impossible. In other words, installation is the bottleneck if we want to reach 100% renewables. For the founders among us it’s an obvious startup opportunity. Installion is the installation service provider for the energy transition helping utilities and other solar companies with qualified manpower onsite and on time. On 25 February 2021, we introduced Installion to Eneco and other smart green VCs to find the best lead investor, the main piece in the Series A puzzle. After watching Florian’s online pitch at Ecosummit Zoom 10 March 2021, Eneco was hooked and due diligence started. The deal closed end of July and today we’re breaking the news that Eneco Ventures invests a ticket of €3.2M leading Installion’s €4M Series A. At the same time, Ecosummit gets 1 assist on the startup VC matchmaking scoreboard which proves our value and track record.
Read more- 12
- October
2020
Ecosummit invests in smart solar utility Sunvigo
Solar is by far the most important renewable energy on planet Earth. To grow the number of PV systems on global rooftops a lot faster, we have to make the solar purchase decision and PV system operations as simple as possible for consumers. The solution is to package the complex bundle of solar technology, financing, installation, operations and insurance into a super easy solar electricity tariff provided by a new smart solar utility. Sunvigo are the new kids on the block, in this case the residential solar market in Germany. After aggregating a strong partner network including a smart meter operator and several PV installers, the Cologne-based solar-as-a-service startup already have their first happy customers making their own solar power at home while paying only their monthly electricity bill. Most importantly, the 3 co-founders Vigen Nikogosian, Michael Peters and Bastian Bauwens are a great team: intelligent, well educated, modest and ambitious, with impressive track records and highly motivated to maximise their impact until 2030. That’s why Ecosummit invested €50K in the €500K Seed round together with Zurich-based Übermorgen Ventures and other smart green angels.
Read more- 25
- September
2020
Fresh capital for Eliq, Accure, Zolar, Energyworx, Voltstorage, Hydrogrid, Minibems and an exit for Fos4x
Several smart green startups recently raised capital and it’s about time to celebrate the active investors such as Inven Capital, SET Ventures and Engie New Ventures and the successful founders that closed new financing rounds during the global Covid-19 pandemic that’s hitting us now with its second wave as mercilessly as climate change will do during the next decades. 4 out of 8 startups that we cover below pitched at Ecosummit in the past, including Eliq, the Swedish app for smart energy consumers. The other 4 will be presented soon, starting with the first pitch of the new German battery intelligence provider Accure at Ecosummit Zoom 7 October 2020. Learn more about how Eliq, Accure, Zolar, Energyworx, Voltstorage, Hydrogrid, Minibems and Fos4x accelerate the energy transition and why European utilities should work together with these innovators rather sooner than later to foster sustainability and improve the lives of their customers.
Read more- 18
- October
2016
Sonnen raises €76M Series D led by Envision Energy and targets IPO
This is a massive financing round. In fact, it is the biggest equity round raised by any Ecosummit startup so far because Sonnen‘s €76M Series D is pure equity. Christoph Ostermann pitched for the first time at Ecosummit Düsseldorf 2012 when he was still working on his Series A. Having secured €20M in three prior funding rounds, the total venture capital raised now amounts to €96M. The new investors are the Chinese wind turbine maker Envision Energy and the family office of Thomas Pütter, ex-CEO of Allianz Capital Partners. At the same time, GE Ventures that were announced as a new investor in June 2016 and the early investors Ecapital, SET Ventures, Munich Venture Partners and Inven Capital all participated in the Series D, too. Make no mistake, Sonnen is a well-funded and licensed utility that challenges all incumbent utilities by inventing new energy services and making electricity free for owners of PV and battery systems.
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