Enerbrain, a start-up specializing in smart building solutions, which has developed an energy efficiency optimization solution for tertiary buildings, closed a new round of financing from EDF Pulse Croissance (the corporate venture capital fund of the EDF Group), IREN, a company operating in the electricity, heat and gas sectors, EQUITER Rif-T, AZIMUT Libera Impresa SGR’s Digitech Fund and GELLIFY.
With this round, Enerbrain is raising the capital needed to implement an ambitious 2021-23 industrial plan aimed at strengthening its international market position, developing new business models and making significant R&D investments. In particular, Enerbrain’s solution, which is using IoT technology supported by artificial intelligence, will aim at embracing new applications in the field of energy transition and air quality.
The Enerbrain scalable technology, able to connect with any existing system, provides remote control of the building Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, using sensors and devices connected to the Cloud as well as a proprietary algorithm. The Enerbrain algorithm uses adaptive and predictive logic to optimise building performance in real time, guaranteeing results in terms of energy savings, improved occupants’ comfort and reduction of the building carbon footprint. By using Enerbrain’s solution without replacing their HVAC systems, clients can not only cut down on their energy related costs, but also boost their CO2 emission reduction targets while achieving ESG goals relating to sustainability and digital transformation, further aligning with requirements of the Green New Deal.
Founded at I3P in 2015, Enerbrain won first place in the Digital Industry category at the EIT Digital Challenge in 2018 and completed a €2 million capital raise in 2019. Today, the new round comes on the heels of a record year for Enerbrain, which saw its revenues grow by more than 300 % year-on-year and, which now boasts an interdisciplinary team of more than 50 people.
“First of all, I want to thank the people and organizations who have believed and continue to believe in us! This operation expresses very well our ability to collaborate with all players in the global and regional market and ensures continuous development. By accelerating the implementation of our business strategy 2021-23, we will certainly be able to strengthen ourselves in the market at international level, develop new business models and make decisive steps in research and development", said Giuseppe Giordano, CEO of Enerbrain. "Our technology and solutions are ideal for everyone, especially for Utilities that can leverage our one-stop-shop energy saving platform to both increase their margins and make crucial predictions on energy consumption, optimally managing demand. Our offering is transversally suited to delivering energy efficiency savings in small public schools, large airports, shopping malls, supermarkets, offices, industries and manufacturing plants".
"By investing in Enerbrain, the EDF Group is reaffirming its commitment to contribute to the fight against climate change through concrete and scalable solutions that can be rapidly deployed to help all the sectors of the economy achieve greater energy sobriety and efficiency", commented Michel Vanhaesbroucke, General Manager of EDF Pulse Croissance.
"We are excited to participate in Enerbrain’s new investment. We have believed in its potential since 2019 by investing in the company’s capital through the IREN-Up corporate venture capital program. Thanks to this new round of financing, Enerbrain – whose technological solutions have been successfully adopted in energy efficiency projects carried out by the IREN Group – will benefit from further significant support for the company’s national and international growth,” said Renato Boero, Chairman of the IREN Group.
"This transaction represents for Equiter the opportunity to carry out an investment, through the RIF-T fund and together with leading partners, in a SME of excellence in Northern Italy, consistent with its mission and in line with the key pillars of the Recovery and Resilience Facility", commented Carla Patrizia Ferrari, CEO of Equiter S.p.A.
“Enerbrain is an Italian company that has quickly become part of a well-defined and fast-growing market, the BEMS (Building Energy Management Systems), driven in particular by two major technological trends: the IoT revolution and the development of cloud and edge computing. We therefore believe that the follow-on investment of GELLIFY goes in the right direction, so that Enerbrain can contribute concretely to the energy transition supported by technological progress”, said Gianlugi Martina, Managing Partner and Founder of GELLIFY.
Marco Belletti, CEO of Azimut Libera Impresa Sgr, stated: “With the Azimut Digitech Fund we support Enerbrain in its process of growth and development, aimed at making the ecosystem in which we live sustainable and energy efficient through artificial intelligence, reaffirming once again our commitment to investing in the real economy to the benefit of our clients in terms of long-term returns”.
Press coverage
"After a record year, Italian startup Enerbrain secures €5.2M to make buildings more energy efficient" - Silicon Canals
"Enerbrain: nuovo round di investimenti da 5,2 mln per sviluppo all'estero" - Borsa Italiana