HYDROGRID, an Austrian tech company providing software for real-time planning & dispatch of hydropower plants, has completed an investment round led by SET Ventures with the goal to help lead the digitalization of hydropower plants across Europe.
The HYDROGRID Insight solution is currently deployed by power generators across six European countries for hydro assets ranging from 1 to 150MW. With the current investment round led by SET Ventures with participation from existing shareholder CNB Capital, the company now aims to further strengthen its position in Europe.
“Hydropower provides both reliable renewable energy and storage capacity and as such has a crucial role to play as ‘green battery’ in the energy transition. We are happy to be able to accelerate the rollout of our solution even more with this investment and to be contributing towards making intelligent hydropower the backbone of a zero carbon future together with our clients across Europe,” said Janice Goodenough, founder and CEO of HYDROGRID.
The funds raised in this investment round will be used to keep growing the sales team, expand collaborations with partners in the hydropower industry and continue the development of the software.
“We are very pleased to support HYDROGRID in further international growth. The company is already the clear category leader and we look forward to working with the team in expanding that position going forward,” commented Wouter Jonk, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at SET Ventures.
“HYDROGRID convincingly shows how digitization can easily help to optimize return-on-investment for large hydropower investments. Since backing the company in early 2020 we have seen very positive market feedback. We are excited to welcome SET Ventures as a strong investment partner to the team and to support the next phase of growth together,” added Sabine Fleischmann, Senior Investment Manager at CNB Capital.
In the fully automated software from HYDROGRID, weather and power market data are combined with local sensor measurements from the hydropower plant to deliver an optimal power plant dispatch plan in real-time. As a result, power plant operators benefit from a reduced daily operational workload while at the same time increasing their revenues by up to 18% compared to manual operation. In addition, the solution also provides a positive effect for the power grid as a whole, by dispatching hydropower in line with times of highest demand and thereby providing a mitigating effect on supply shortages and price spikes, said the company in a statement.
