Vireo Ventures Raises €20M from EIF for Electrification Fund

Berlin-based Vireo Ventures secures €20 million from EIF for Vireo Electrification Fund I, fostering early-stage technologies for energy digitalization and electrification. EIF’s investment, backed by REPowerEU and German ERP, boosts the transition to a sustainable energy landscape. Furthermore, the fund has a potential total size of €60 million.

Vireo Ventures is led by a seasoned team with backgrounds in energy, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. Their expertise stems from investing in 80+ energy and clean-tech start-ups, ensuring financial and environmental returns. Recognizing the energy sector’s significant CO2 emissions contribution, they specialize in supporting seed-stage companies. Furthermore, the company plays a vital role in advancing sustainable energy solutions. Their focus lies in identifying and nurturing promising technologies and teams early on, aligning with global efforts to meet the climate targets set by the Paris Agreement. Moreover, EIF is committed to supporting investors like Vireo Ventures in advancing European energy capabilities.

Vireo Venture’s Electrification Fund targets energy, mobility, transport, buildings, and industry start-ups, focusing on digitalization and intelligent energy system management. Moreover, the first startups the fund supported include:

• Amperecloud: a start-up that can manage the entire portfolios of owners and operators of renewable energy plants on one platform.
• Green Fusion: a company that provides AI-enabled heating management for multi-family buildings.
• Pionix: an open-source software provider enabling the management of charging stations for electric cars.
• About:Energy: a battery modeling software solution enabling better decision-making around battery selection, design, and supply for OEMs.

Marjut Falkstedt, Chief Executive of the EIF, said in a statement:

“Electrification has become the area of very important technological developments, and its importance will only continue to grow in the next decade. This opens significant potential for profitable investments and adds a powerful tool in the arsenal to tackle so many of the problems we are facing in decarbonizing the electricity sector. That’s why, at the EIF, we are proud to support advanced technology investors like Vireo Ventures to further boost European capabilities in the energy sector”.

Mischa Wetzel, Managing Partner of Vireo Ventures, added:

“We firmly believe that electrification is the most important measure for mastering the path to global net zero and for achieving the Paris climate targets. That is why we fund start-ups contributing to this energy transition across the whole electrification value chain, from generation of renewable energy to grids and storage, to applications in the electrification of transport and mobility, real estate, and industrial processes. We are delighted about EIF joining us on our mission to nurture the European energy-tech innovation landscape and are looking forward to a long and impactful partnership.”