Copenhagen-based startup OKTO GRID has just raised fresh funding to help create a greener energy outlook for Europe. The startup has developed a solution to help the energy industry digitize assets, accelerating the energy transition.
As the energy transition gets underway and Europe turns to more renewable and greener sources, the need for electricity is rising. Alongside this, is an urgent need to upgrade the electrical grid to sustain a high-quality supply. As temperatures drop across Europe and the energy crisis takes an ever-more present toll, a societal shift to greener and renewable sources of energy couldn’t be at a more pivotal moment.
Aiming to help energy companies digitize their assets in a simple way, so they can have better oversight and track performance, is Danish startup OKTO GRID – and they’ve just secured fresh funding to scale.
Golam Sadeghnia: “OKTO GRID is on a mission to digitalize transformers to handle new energy sources and rising energy consumption. The world is becoming increasingly electrified which requires an upgrade of our existing electricity infrastructure. We need to expand our current grid with new grid assets as well as add new life to existing infrastructure by digitalization. Adding new data sources using OKTO GRID’s simplified method will take us a long way.”
The details:
- €3 million raised in a seed round
- Investors include Elewit and Rockstart
- OKTO GRID had formerly raised a total of €900k from Vækstfonden, Innovation Fund Denmark, Rockstart Energy Fund, Mist Ventures AB, and Power Syndicate ApS.
Silvia Bruno, Director at Elewit: “Our goal at Elewit is to promote energy transition and connectivity for a sustainable future. The team at OKTO GRID has developed a solution that has the potential to make asset condition monitoring for electricity generators and distributors easier and more realistic to implement – enabling them to optimize their equipment and more easily meet future demands for productivity, stability, and prolong asset lifetime.”
Feeding growing electricity appetite
Founded in 2019, OKTO GRID has developed a solution to help the energy industry digitize assets in a simple way without taking important assets out of service. This enables energy distributors and even energy generators to measure condition changes and anomalies, and, track asset performance in more detail than any solution in the market before.
It also prolongs the lifespan of transformers and helps to avoid breakdowns from wear and tear – creating a more resilient energy system and supply.
OKTO GRID started developing an IoT device that captures operation-critical data non-invasively from electricity-generating or distributing assets, with a primary focus on transformers. This data is then analyzed on the platform giving energy providers valuable insights.
Golam Sadeghnia, CEO of OKTO GRID: “The competitor situation today consists primarily of larger companies that manufacture transformers and energy generators and have the equipment to collect certain types of data. They are, however, to a certain extent limited to their own products. Smaller companies offer solutions that are limited to certain transformer types and use technologies that require downtime and significant costs.
OKTO GRID’s solution, which works independently of transformer type and manufacturer, is mounted in less than 10 minutes without downtime or any tooling required. To the best of our knowledge, we are unique in the market with this combination.”
With the new funding, OKTO GRID’s ambitions are to become an industry-leading player in the European market for condition monitoring of transformers and wind turbines within the next three years. Currently operating in Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Slovenia, and Spain, the company wants to expand and consolidate its European presence.
Max ter Horst, Managing Partner Energy at Rockstart: “Transformer maintenance and uptime are becoming critical issues for grid operators, given the increased strains on transformers caused by the electrification of the energy system. OKTO GRID has developed a patented, state-of-the-art sensor to remotely monitor transformer health, that is easy and safe to deploy. We are thrilled to participate in this round, which will provide OKTO GRID with sufficient funding to scale their business as well as an investor base with excellent market access.”
via https://www.AiUpNow.com
December 12, 2022 at 04:06AM by contact@bcurdy.com (Patricia Allen), Khareem Sudlow
