Energy, Estonia, Good for Business, Investments, Lithuania

International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 29.03.2024, 10:03

Lietuvos Energija invests EUR 50,000 in Estonian startup

BC, Tallinn, 28.08.2018.Print version
KUB Smart Energy Fund, a venture capital fund financed by Lithuania's state-run energy group Lietuvos Energija and managed by the venture capital company Contrarian Ventures, has invested 50,000 euros in the Estonian start-up FuseBox OU that is developing a platform for electricity consumers, informed LETA/BNS.

FuseBox stated it will apply the investment toward research and development, as well as platform, technology, and business development.


FuseBox is gathering flexible electricity consumption from large electricity consumers, using the flexibility of the consumers to help balance and secure the electricity grid in the Baltics. The company currently plans to unite 1,500 different buildings as a virtual power plant with the capacity of 90 megawatts of very fast reacting power. This capacity will be used mainly for securing and balancing the electricity grid instead of fossil fuel generators, the company said.


"Larger energy consumers in Baltic markets presently have no access to incentives to be flexible with their energy export and import as large power stations in the energy markets," said FuseBox founder and CEO Tarvo Ong.


FuseBox's pilot partners as of now include cold storages, shopping centers and office buildings, all energy intensive companies. FuseBox's software and technology will allow them to extract more qualitative information on their energy consumption and participate in the national demand response markets. In the case of one customer, it can optionally ramp down its freezer facilities when the grid notifies that a network strain episode is advancing.


Rokas Peciulaitis, partner at Contrarain Ventures, said: "Renewables are where most of the generation capacity growth is today, however, it is just not always there when it is needed. Therefore, the volatility must be balanced and FuseBox is doing it in a responsible way? -- ?by using already existing electricity loads instead of fossil fuel generators. FuseBox's everyday work benefits every one of us by creating a socioeconomic effect with cheaper energy prices and cleaner environment."


Contrarian Ventures is a Vilnius based early-stage venture capital firm focusing on investments in emerging technologies in the energy sector in Europe. It is the manager of Smart Energy Fund powered by Lietuvos Energija.


Smart Energy Fund invested around 280,000 euros into Voltaware, a UK-based energy technology start-up, in July. It also invested 350,000 euros into Lithuanian start-up Aerodiagnostika and British start-up Switchee in cooperation with business accelerator AcceleratorOne.






Search site