Dutch startup Sympower secures €21M to balance out the energy grid

Amsterdam-based startup Sympower has secured €21mn as it looks to scale its grid-balancing technology.

Sympower partners with businesses that use a large amount of electricity. It gains access to some of their energy assets and can turn them on and off when the grid requires balancing — a process called demand response.

Sympower’s software platform uses AI to analyse data and optimise when and how much power businesses can sell at any given time, making energy use adjustments more effective and profitable for all parties. 

Grid operators pay Sympower to stabilise the energy supply. The company passes most of that payment to participating businesses, keeping a small service fee. 

The system gives energy-intensive companies an incentive to stop using electricity during times of peak demand. The more energy they save, the more money they make. The idea is to help prevent blackouts and the strain on the grid.

Electricity infrastructure around the world is struggling to adapt to the influx of renewable energies like wind and solar because — unlike the gas and coal that came before — they produce power intermittently.

The EU has identified demand response — as well as energy storage technologies — as key to restoring the balance. As more renewables come online and our societies electrify, it’s no wonder that demand for grid flexibility is surging.

Founded by Simon Bushnell and Georg Rute in 2015, who studied together at Imperial College London, Sympower is a first-mover in this relatively niche industry. It has 2GW worth of energy assets under management and employs 200 people in over 10 countries. Today’s funding round brings its total capital raised to a healthy €60mn.

“Sympower has grown tremendously in recent years, which aligns with the unprecedented demand across Europe for diversified and mature energy flexibility solutions,” said Bushell, the company’s CEO and co-founder.

A&G Energy Transition Tech Fund (A&G ETTF) led the funding round, with direct investment from the European Investment Fund (EIF) and participation from existing investors Activate Capital, Rubio Impact Ventures, PDENH, and Expon Capital.

Armed with fresh funding, the company aims to continue expanding throughout Europe, with the intent to acquire competitors in the near future. It is also expanding into the battery storage business to complement its demand response software.