Germany’s Zählerfreunde secures Seed capital to make energy transition accessible to all

Munich-based Zählerfreunde, a cleantech startup, announced that it has secured a seven-figure investment in a seed round of funding completed on August 26. 

This development follows a pre-seed round in 2022 with investors including Enpulse, Erich Wex, and capacura. The company has now attracted two new investors, Salzburg AG and Stadtwerke Herne, in addition to the existing ones.

Michael Baminger, CEO of Salzburg AG, says, “Decarbonisation, customer focus and constant innovation are three core values ​​of Salzburg AG.”

“The investment in Zählerfreunde helps us to push our innovation strategy, strengthen our position as a provider of digital energy management systems and create added energy efficiency value for our customers – together with Zählerfreunde. In this respect, it is a particular pleasure for us to support them in entering the Austrian market.”

A platform for users of smart electricity meters

According to Zählerfreunde, the energy and building sectors are responsible for around 46 per cent of CO2 emissions in Germany. To improve grid efficiency, a new law mandates smart meters for larger households and businesses, but consumers often see little value for the added cost. 

Zählerfreunde, a cleantech startup, aims to change this. It specialises in digital energy management solutions, offering white-label products for energy suppliers, metering point operators, tenant electricity projects, and real estate companies.

Its software allows households and businesses to visualise, analyse, and optimise energy consumption through an app and web platform, aiming to reduce energy costs and CO2 emissions.

Business angel Erich Wex says, “Over the past two years, Zählerfreunde has proven that it is capable of securing more and more market share. The white-label software solution is now used by more than 20 energy companies.”

“In addition, a new product has been developed specifically for SMEs. The startup is now expanding to Austria and Switzerland – and next year to other EU countries. I want to be a reliable pioneer in all of these promising steps.”

Expansion in Germany and Europe

Germany is expected to see around 16 million mandatory smart meters by 2032, with over one million units added annually. However, many energy suppliers struggle to leverage these meters effectively due to a lack of technology and expertise.

Zählerfreunde’s B2B and white-label SaaS solution addresses this gap, enabling approximately 1,000 energy suppliers in Germany to integrate existing customers and attract new ones.

With the new funding, Zählerfreunde aims to expand into additional European markets, particularly targeting Austria, where the smart meter rollout is advanced, but energy suppliers often lack suitable software. The company sees potential for its application in these regions.

In a statement translated from Dutch, Tobias Keussen, CEO of Zählerfreunde, says, “This capital injection enables us to achieve further important milestones because for this, we need new developers and sales staff.”

“Our white-label solution is getting even more new functions so that it can be seamlessly connected to the systems of energy suppliers, tenant electricity companies and metering point operators.”

“For private households and companies, dashboards will be even clearer and more transparent than they already are. In addition, we are expanding the intelligent controls with an AI solution so that our customers only use electricity when it is cheapest.”

Florian Fichter, MD of Enpulse, adds, “The development of Zählerfreunde since the pre-seed financing at the end of 2022 has convinced us to continue investing in the startup. The market potential in Germany and Europe is promising and there is a lot of catching up to do among energy suppliers.”

“Austria alone will install six million smart meters by the end of 2024. Some EU countries have already achieved 100 per cent coverage – and experience has shown that they always need additional software and services to do this.”