- 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- 22
- June
2022
Ecosummit Berlin 23-24 June 2022
We want to live in 100% sustainable cities powered by 100% renewable energy and 100% electric mobility. Founded in 2010, Ecosummit accelerates smart green startups in energy, mobility and cities to save our climate, decarbonise our economy and electrify our planet. Our events are startup markets enabling fundraising, lead and co-investing, corporate venturing, open innovation and M&A. Ecosummit Berlin 23-24 June 2022 takes place at Spindler & Klatt, Köpenicker Strasse 16-17, 10997 Berlin, the best smart green startup conference in the perfect location for sunshine and outdoor networking. Get your tickets and join us. Ecosummit is a European platform supported by 55 sponsors from 17 countries. The agenda features 108 speakers including 67 startups. Check out our amazing list of 300 participants and start arranging your meetings with the help of Linkedin. All participants must be fully COVID-19 vaccinated/recovered. We serve vegetarian/vegan food, excellent wines, good music and 2 dinner parties. Extend your stay for the weekend, bring your families and enjoy our special programme for Ecosummit participants, included in the conference ticket, on Saturday, 25 June 2022: We celebrate the Ecosummit Afterparty on the island Lindwerder, Havelchaussee 43, 14193 Berlin in the Havel, Grunewald from 15:00 until late. Let’s accelerate smart green startups together to maximise our impact until 2030.
Read more- 3
- March
2022
Ecosummit Zoom 10 March 2022
Climate change, pandemic, war – if we work together globally, we can solve all our problems and save our planet for future generations. Putin’s terrible war in Ukraine kills people and endangers peace, freedom and democracy in the whole world. It also has a huge impact on our climate and the energy transition. Now we must stop burning fossil fuels and reach 100% renewable energy autonomy a lot faster than originally planned. Ecosummit Zoom 10 March 2022 takes place at 10:00-12:00 Berlin time and is a free event for fundraising startups and active investors. Rather than selling tickets we kindly ask you to make a donation to your preferred humanitarian aid organisation (e.g. Aktionsbündnis Katastrophenhilfe in Germany) to support the people and economy in Ukraine.
Read more- 9
- February
2022
Instagrid raises €29M Series B led by Energy Impact Partners
The Instagrid success story continues and reaches the next level. In February 2020, we wrote a groovy story on the €8.5M Series A and how Sebastian Berning and Andreas Sedlmayr launched their mobile battery startup and met their lead investor SET Ventures at Ecosummit Berlin 2019, our 10-year anniversary. Today, we’re happy to break the news that Energy Impact Partners (EIP) leads Instagrid’s massive €29M Series B as the only new investor. With $2B AUM EIP itself is pretty massive, too. Hans Kobler and Matthias Dill invest in Instagrid both from their US and EU funds as they plan to share returns and the mobile battery business opportunity with their global LPs. The Ludwigsburg-based startup provides portable green power to professionals and mobile lifestyle optimisers in all kinds of offgrid situations, including construction sites, ubiquitous events, smart forests or sustainable picknicks in the park enhanced by electric BBQs and powerful sound systems.
Read more- 7
- July
2021
Energyworx raises €5.1M Series B led by Eneco Ventures
Breaking news at Ecosummit Zoom today: Energyworx raises €5.1M Series B led by Eneco Ventures and with participation of existing investors ENGIE New Ventures, EDP Ventures and SET Ventures. While the round was oversubscribed, Energyworx selected Eneco Ventures as lead investor due to the shared vision and growth strategy as well as a really smooth deal process and fast due diligence. The Dutch startup is focused on cloud-based energy data management for grid operators and retailers, employs a team of 27 and aims at growing at 100% in 2022. Eneco Ventures is standing out among Europe’s Corporate VCs because it already celebrated 3 exits in the first half of 2021 having sold their stakes in Thermondo, Next Kraftwerke and Greenflux. The proceeds of the exits will be invested in new startups of which Energyworx is the first one. Marcel Smit, CEO of Energyworx, first pitched at Ecosummit Berlin 2017 and, most recently, at Ecosummit Zoom 2 September 2020.
Read more- 18
- May
2021
Ecosummit Zoom 2 June 2021
Founded in 2010, our mission is maximising our impact until 2030, the global deadline for carbon neutrality. Our goals are 100% electric mobility, 100% renewable energy and 100% sustainable cities. We’re zooming in again on fundraising startups and active investors at Ecosummit Zoom 2 June 2021, our 14th online event, co-hosted by Christoph Ostermann, Gerard Reid and Bart Markus. The agenda presents 11 inspiring speakers: Davor Sutija (Nexwafe) launching Series C, Sergey Ogorodnov (Voltaware) launching Series B, Duncan Grierson (Clim8) launching Series A, Cathal Hughes (BP Launchpad), Mike Popham (Stryde), Anna Björklou (Epishine), Franck Raynaud (MyBus) launching Series A, Peter van Giessel (Shell Ventures), Jochem de Graaf (Travis) launching Series A, Samuel Jansson (Utilifeed) launching Series A and Julia Padberg (SET Ventures). Please get in touch if you want to pitch at Ecosummit to accelerate your startup, fund or portfolio. Get your tickets and join us. Let’s automate sustainability in every industry and build big startups with big impact.
Read more- 2
- December
2020
GreenCom Networks raises €12M Series C led by Shell Ventures
Breaking news at Ecosummit Zoom today: Founder CEO Christian Feißt unveils the €12M Series C of GreenCom Networks led by Shell Ventures and supported by new co-investor Energy & Environment Investment (EEI), Japan’s leading smart green VC making its first investment in Europe. With the help of EEI, GreenCom is already working on entering the Japanese market and talking to potential customers. Existing investors Centrica, Future Energy Ventures, Munich Venture Partners and SET Ventures, who all happen to be Ecosummit 2020 sponsors, participate in the new financing round of their portfolio star. The Munich-based company was founded in 2011, employs 65 energy, software and innovation experts, has a very strong management team and enjoys increasing commercial traction. In fact, GreenCom launched its Series C at our first Ecosummit Zoom 6 May 2020 and announced the closing 7 months later at our 8th Ecosummit Zoom 2 December 2020. Celebrating this funding milestone and our productive friendship, Christian just renewed their Ecosummit 2021 sponsorship. That’s the way we like it.
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- 8
- May
2020
Ecosummit Zoom 3 June 2020
Our first Ecosummit Zoom 6 May 2020 was super successful with over 120 concurrent online participants. We featured 11 speakers in our 2h session including several smart green startups with open financing rounds: Greencom Networks Series C, Discovergy Series B and Solar for Schools Series A. The traction of EO Charging is very impressive and its 28-year old founder Charlie Jardine is ready to talk to new investors, too. Driven by the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’re happy to announce our second Ecosummit Zoom 3 June 2020, 10:00-12:00 and 15:00-17:00 Berlin time and third Ecosummit Zoom 1 July 2020, 10:00-12:00 and 15:00-17:00. 22 speakers are confirmed and included in the agenda below. Get your tickets and join our online events and the next physical Ecosummit Berlin.
Read more- 4
- February
2020
Mobile battery pioneer Instagrid raises €8.5M Series A led by SET Ventures
They take mobile electricity where it has never gone before. Their goal is smart green electrification without local CO2 emissions. Their solution is replacing stinky diesel gensets with silent mobile batteries. Today Instagrid makes a big step forward and celebrates the closing of its €8.5M Series A led by SET Ventures and joined by Segnalita Ventures, part of the Swarovski family office which also owns Tyrolit, Germany’s early stage power house HTGF and the Frankfurt-based family office blueworld.group. At the same time, this transaction boosts our Ecosummit track record of successfully matching startups and investors. In fact, Instagrid and SET Ventures met for the first time at Ecosummit Berlin 2019. While this sounds very romantic, the A round is a major milestone for every startup and the beginning of a long-lasting relationship with many board meetings and follow-ons until the M&A or IPO exit.
Read more- 6
- September
2019
Smart green VCs you should know
There are many smart green VCs in Europe and the US that back startups in energy, mobility, buildings, cities, materials, food and circular economy to create impact as well as environmental, financial and strategic returns for their fund investors (LPs). In the VC food chain, early stage investors prefer to invest, at lower valuations and higher risk, in the Seed, Series A and Series B financing rounds of young startups working on product market fit and traction (users, customers, revenues). On the other hand, late stage VCs like shorter holding periods and time-to-exit and, consequently, advanced startups with more than €5M revenues, experienced management teams and fast growth. The existence of KPIs, ideally going up over time, makes the life of every investor easier. Facing climate change, technology revolution and global competition, the majority of corporates have adopted corporate venturing and open innovation strategies in order to invest in and do business with startups. The result are different investment strategies and sometimes competing portfolios that startups should know before pitching. Let’s co-invest and meet at Ecosummit Berlin.
Read more- 29
- November
2017
SET Ventures announces Limejump investment at Ecosummit London
It is our common goal to build big startups that have big impact. Co-investing strengthens the investor syndicate and enables startups to grow faster. Following this goal, Amsterdam-based SET Ventures announces their new investment in Limejump at Ecosummit London. ECO17 London took place last week at the magnificent LSO St Luke’s, attracted 140 participants and presented 38 startups, most of them actively fundraising. In fact, SET Ventures transfers another €3M to Limejump doubling their Series A which was led by Statkraft Ventures in July. This is the first co-investment of SET Ventures and Statkraft Ventures but it may not be their last one given that they have the same investment strategy and different competences and networks.
Read more- 4
- July
2017
SET Ventures announces investment in Greencom Networks at Ecosummit Amsterdam 2017
An energy IoT platform startup was missing in their portfolio. Today, Rene Savelsberg shares again good news at Ecosummit Amsterdam 2017 and announces SET Ventures‘ new investment in Greencom Networks. The German software startup provides an energy IoT platform for utilities and OEMs to enable Distributed Energy Resources Management (DERM), competing with AutoGrid, Kiwigrid and C3 IoT. SET Ventures leads the new €3M round and is joined by the existing investor Munich Venture Partners.
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.
Read more- 11
- October
2016
SET Ventures announces investment in Energyworx at Ecosummit London 2016
Our smart green innovation community is making more deals and sharing breaking news at Ecosummit. During today’s ECO16 London presentation, Rene Savelsberg announces the new investment of SET Ventures in Energyworx, the Dutch software provider for energy data analytics and management for utilities. SET Ventures joins the existing investor HenQ to complete Energyworx’ Series A in which both VCs co-invested a couple of million Euros and made additional capital reserves for follow-on investments. Energyworx is the first investment since the Amsterdam-based smart energy VC reached the first closing of SET Fund II at €60M in February 2016. With the software skills of HenQ and the energy experience and network of SET Ventures Energyworx is now poised to accelerate its growth and win new utility customers in Europe and America.
Read more- 6
- February
2016
SET Ventures raises €60M SET Fund II from EIF, Sitra, Shell, Essent, Delta and Korys
Fundraising is tough, time- and travel-intensive and needs a fair amount of salesmanship – not only for startups but also for VCs. Fund managers have to convince fund investors that they can make money for their Limited Partners (LPs). First, General Partners (GPs) need to build a strong portfolio by wisely investing into the best startups they can find. Then they need to create a lot of value post-investment by quickly growing their portfolio companies with the ultimate goal of realising successful exits, i.e. trade sales (the rule) or IPOs (the exception). GPs Rene Savelsberg and Wouter Jonk are Amsterdam-based smart energy VCs who raised their first SET Fund I in 2007 after having learned the trade as Corporate VCs at Philips. Up to now, they have 3 good exits under their belt: Epyon to ABB in 2011, AlertMe to British Gas in 2015 and Sefaira to Trimble on 8 February 2016. Good exits are a key requirement for raising a second fund as LPs look for track record in terms of proven capability to generate returns. Yesterday, SET Ventures announced the first closing of SET Fund II at €60M and plans to add a few more LPs until March 2016.
Read more- 15
- April
2015
Christoph Ostermann pitches Sonnenbatterie at ECO14 London
Ecosummit TV: Christoph Ostermann pitches Sonnenbatterie at ECO14 London. Since then a lot has happened to the famous solar storage startup from Bavaria. Just 2 days ago, Sonnenbatterie was chosen in New York as New Energy Pioneer 2015 by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. In December 2014, Sonnenbatterie raised €7.5M Series B from Munich Venture Partners, SET Ventures and Ecapital, bringing up the total capital raised to €10.5M. With 2014 revenues of €15M, Sonnenbatterie turns out to be very capital efficient. Moreover, a new management team was hired including COO Oliver Koch (Paramount Solar, acquired by Solarcity), CTO Hermann Schweizer and US Country Manager Boris von Bormann, a very smart and well connected German living on the West Coast for 25 years. In fact, Sonnenbatterie USA will officially launch at Intersolar San Francisco on 14-16 July 2015 and currently works on adapting their battery system to the local market and finding strong production and distribution partners. Christoph plans the Series C in 2016 and wants to bring in American co-investors while keeping the HQ in Germany for the foreseeable future.
Read more- 5
- March
2015
Jay Marathe of Cartagena Capital takes startups from fundraising to successful exits
Ecosummit TV: Startups and VCs alike share the need for more and better exits. While we believe that Pan-European co-investing is an important success factor for achieving good exits, we acknowledge that exits are challenging and often are facilitated by corporate finance advisors representing the sell or buy side. In this context, Jay Marathe of Cartagena Capital talks about taking startups from fundraising to successful exits at ECO14 Berlin. The timing of the exit is key. Startups should constantly listen to the market for strong exit signals: competitors get acquired, customers place huge orders or buyers have lots of cash and start calling. At the same time, it makes sense to continue fundraising and creating value until you reach key valuation milestones and have a nice selection of LOIs from multiple buyers on the table. A recent exit is the $100M acquisition of AlertMe by British Gas, their biggest customer and one of their VCs. This transaction also enabled the second exit of SET Ventures.
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