Amber, an Australian startup that makes software for smart energy storage systems, has just raised $29.6 million (€26 million) in a round led by ETF Partners to fund European expansion.
Headquartered in Melbourne, Amber provides software that automatically charges home batteries and electric vehicles when power is cheapest and sells it back when prices are high. The company accounts for 40% of new automated home batteries in Australia, its largest market. Now it has its eyes set on Europe.
Amber has already launched in the UK, with its co-CEO Chris Thompson relocating to support the expansion. With this new round, which also includes existing backers Square Peg, Gentrack, Rubio Impact Ventures and Breakthrough Victoria, it plans to open an office in Germany to further its growth.
Rob Genieser, a managing partner at environmental tech-focused growth investor ETF, notes that while Australia is a much smaller market than Europe in terms of population, it boasts one of the world’s most advanced two-way energy grids.
Currently, around one in three homes there generates solar power, and battery adoption is accelerating. Genieser estimates that the amount of solar panel technology being rolled out in Australia is already four times that of the UK.
“Clearly, there is a gap that can be closed,” he told PitchBook. “I think you’re going see a lot of growth, both in terms of new systems being deployed—both PVs [photovoltaics] as well as EVs [electric vehicles]—and people are going to figure out that, with the software, they can start to make a lot of money on this infrastructure.”
Amber has also teamed up with one of Europe’s largest utilities companies, E.ON, and environmentally focused energy retailer Ecotricity.
It also has plans to use the funds to release its vehicle-to-grid capabilities this year, which will allow customers to earn money from their EVs by selling energy back to the grid when it’s needed most.
Genieser adds that Amber is well-placed for the future as European governments continue to focus on renewables and decentralized energy as a means of greater energy security.
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