Axle Energy, an energy flexibility platform connecting distributed assets with energy markets, has raised £7 million in seed funding to accelerate its mission to decarbonise the grid.
The seed round brings the total amount raised by the company to over £8m. Accel led the round, with participation from existing investors Picus Capital and Eka Ventures. A number of notable angel investors also participated, including Amit Gudka (founder and CEO of Field Energy), Sierra Peterson (founder of Voyager Ventures), Hanno Renner (founder and CEO of Personio), and Nico Rosberg (Formula 1 World Champion and sustainability entrepreneur).
The funding will be used to expand Axle Energy’s team and support the company’s continued growth across the European energy market.
Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar provide the cheapest electricity in history, but they’re not easy to control. They rely on inconsistent local weather patterns that can’t be switched on at will to meet the demands of the power grid at its peak. As countries eject fossil fuels from the grid, they’re looking for new ways to match supply and demand that don’t require precise control over energy generation.
Axle Energy’s software platform provides a zero-carbon solution to facilitating swift adjustments to energy usage in response to the needs of the grid. The platform helps energy suppliers and the manufacturers of flexible assets such as electric vehicles (EVs), chargers, home batteries and heat pumps – which are connected, can store energy and be switched on at will – to integrate these products and their customers with local and national energy markets.
By doing so, Axle Energy provides a technology-first approach to decarbonising the grid, increasing resilience and saving money for end-consumers. The company has already connected more than 15,000 flexible assets to energy markets, totalling over 85 MW of capacity.
Axle’s platform grows revenue for manufacturers by connecting them to new flexibility markets and unlocking sales growth. The company has recently launched partnerships with innovative manufacturers such as SolarEdge, myenergi, Pod Point and GivEnergy to help them provide clean flexibility to the grid and reward their customers for helping to do so.
Co-founders Karl Bach (CEO) and Archy de Berker (CTO) founded the company in 2023 after working for energy suppliers and flexibility providers in the UK and abroad. Having witnessed the challenges of the current system first hand, they identified the opportunity for distributed flexible assets to provide a key part of the solution.
This seed funding will be used to expand Axle Energy’s team and support its growth across the UK and abroad, with the tailwind of a new UK government pledging to deliver zero-carbon electricity by 2030 accompanying the EU’s existing long-term plan for achieving carbon-neutrality by 2050.
“Millions of people have assets in their homes that can stabilise the power grid, save them money on their energy bills, and help us pivot away from fossil fuels,” said Bach. “At Axle Energy, we’re connecting these devices to flexibility markets so they can become the backbone of the future energy system.
“The past few years have shown us that relying on fossil fuels is an expensive risk, and now we have the opportunity to radically rebuild and decarbonise the power grid, which the UK Government has also pledged to overhaul.
“This new funding will help us meet increased demand for flexible power sources and get closer to kicking fossil fuels out of the grid once and for all.”
Zhenya Loginov, partner at Accel, said: “Karl and Archy have a wealth of experience in the energy sector, and their vision for rebuilding the grid in favour of renewable energy sources is truly exciting – and necessary.
“They’ve seen strong early traction, with their easy-to-use software platform already being used by major manufacturers. We’re proud to back Axle Energy as they continue this growth.”
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