Hamburg unicorn 1KOMMA5° raises further funds for carbon neutral energy
Summary
This week, Hamburg carbon-neutral energy systems provider 1KOMMA5\xb0 confirmed closing an undisclosed double-digit million Euro deal with VC firm 2150. The company previously raised 630 million in funding and became a unicorn in June this year after less than two years in operation.1KOMMA5\xb0 invests in companies in the electrical sector with a particular focus on photovoltaic systems, charging infrastructure and heat pumps, and in return, offers the entrepreneurs the use of its own software solutions, centralised services, bundled purchasing, growth capital and a reverse shareholding in 1KOMMA5\xb0 Holding.The company is the provider of the "Heartbeat" a proprietary energy IoT system delivering centralised intelligent energy management which optimises home energy in response to energy price fluctuations. It will now be available for use across all compatible systems, increasing user independence from the electricity grid.It also operates a virtual power plant that pools and networks customers photovoltaics, electricity storage, heat pumps and charging columns, thus greatly increasing the profitability of networked customer systems.1KOMMA5\xb0 will use the funding for the further development and expansion of its software applications around "Heartbeat" and a new R&D centre in Berlin with over 100 employees for software and product development as well as a test laboratory.Well use this funding to further refine our Heartbeat software to come closer to our goal of living on wind and sunlight forever for free. But this requires constant further development.Currently, 1KOMMA5\xb0 operates over 65 sites with around 1,500 employees in Germany, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Denmark, Spain, and Australia. This means cleaner and cheaper electricity for households who are rapidly adopting rooftop solar, home batteries, electric vehicles, and heat pumps all the while buffering them from the inherent volatility of renewable wind and solar energy.