German energy company E.ON launches new €250M venture fund focusing on energy, cities & frontier technologies

Germany-based energy company E.ON has launched Future Energy Ventures – a venture capital platform that invests in the digital technologies and digital business models redefining the energy landscape, It has been launched with €250M invested capital in its portfolio.

Let’s talk about the fund

The fund, which is led by Ines Bergmann-Nolting and Jan Lozek, focuses on digital, scalable and asset-light businesses in the energy ecosystem, seeking Series A and beyond funding, and that have shown evidence of a product-market-fit. It will look for both investments and scaling opportunities for its portfolio globally as well as for new investment opportunities, from its operational hubs in Germany, Israel and Silicon Valley.

According to Future Energy Ventures, if the company is raising series A, it will invest between €1-5M. For later stages it will invest between €5-10M. Talking about the equity it takes, the company says,“ It depends on the stage of the company, but we aim for a 10-20% participation.”

“While we don’t see ourselves as an operational VC as such, we do provide fundraising support, access to our network and recruiting services to our founders. We like working together with them to help find the right strategy for their business,” says Future Energy Ventures. 

The launch of Future Energy Ventures follows the completion of E.ON’s acquisition of Innogy – a fellow German energy provider that had previously held the largest market cap in the country. By acquiring Innogy’s networks and retail activities, as per reports, E.ON gained 51.5 million clients and a regulated asset base of €33.2B across Europe, the most on the continent.

The portfolio of Future Energy Ventures consists of startups that E.ON and Innogy had previously, separately, invested in. These include Bidgely, Holobuilder, Intertrust, Thermondo and T-Rex.

About E.ON

According to E.ON, it plays a leading role in shaping a green, digital, and decentralised world of energy. The company has more than 70,000 employees. More than 50 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers purchase power, gas, digital products, or solutions for electromobility and climate protection from E.ON.

Image credits: E.ON