Berlin-based trawa, a renewable energy supplier, announced that it has secured €10M in a seed round of funding led by Balderton Capital.
The round also saw participation from German climate tech investor AENU as well as existing investors like Speedinvest, Magnetic, and TinyVC. This latest round brings trawa’s total raised capital to over €12M.
Capital utilisation
trawa specialises in streamlining energy purchasing and management for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with its AI-driven solution.
David Budde, trawa’s co-founder and CEO, says, “Businesses face an immense challenge in navigating a volatile energy market. trawa uses its technology to help small and medium-sized companies secure not only more affordable but also renewable energy.”
The funds will fuel trawa’s expansion efforts, particularly in enhancing its AI technology and broadening its suite of solutions. The company’s focus is on empowering customers to transform their energy procurement and consumption practices.
Budde adds, “This financing will enable trawa to further build out our ecosystem platform to supply businesses with a solution that automatically manages and optimises their energy costs, consumption and emissions.”
Professionalising green electricity purchasing
Europe is facing an energy crisis, leading to significantly higher electricity prices compared to the US, impacting industries like manufacturing, especially in the Eurozone and Germany.
trawa addresses this by helping SMEs transition to green energy, offering affordable solutions and technology to regain control over power purchasing. The company was founded in 2022 by David Budde, Max Lüddemann and Robert Quick.
According to trawa, SMEs often struggle with the complexities of energy procurement and infrastructure, resorting to fixed-rate purchases that can be up to 20 per cent more expensive than structured procurement.
trawa offers solutions to simplify energy procurement by managing fluctuating electricity prices, securing contracts, and handling renewable energy sources.
Using AI, the company helps SMEs structure their energy purchasing, optimising power combinations to match individual consumption patterns. By procuring electricity in instalments at different times, trawa enables cost savings for SMEs.
The company’s management software also provides SMEs with real-time insights into their energy usage, generation, and costs, allowing them to automatically adjust consumption to times of lower electricity prices.
This feature is crucial as more businesses invest in modern energy assets like rooftop solar systems or batteries, which trawa can optimise. Through AI-powered purchasing and management software, companies can achieve annual energy cost savings of up to 30 per cent.
trawa’s partners
trawa collaborates with major German suppliers and smaller energy providers, including farmers with solar and wind farms. This ensures that all energy procured through trawa is easily traceable for sustainability reporting.
Partnering with these providers, trawa serves a growing number of commercial and industrial clients in the DACH region. This includes traditional textile manufacturer SETEX-Textil, the Amano Hotel Group, solar energy company Sunmaxx, logistics company Loxxess, and automotive supplier Coroplast Group.
The company helps these businesses maximise cost savings and secure their energy supply in a “volatile market”. Currently, trawa is supplying over 1,000 locations across Germany, helping SMEs protect themselves against price fluctuations in energy.
What do the investors have to say?
James Wise, General Partner at Balderton, says, “In the face of the climate crisis and volatile energy pricing market, renewable energy is a way for companies to take control of their energy security.”
“trawa offers companies a bespoke solution for energy procurement, shielding SMEs from price explosions, helping them make the most of investments in assets like smart batteries and solar power and providing granular data for ESG reporting.”
“We’re excited to be working with David, Max and Robert, who have built a fast-growing business, addressing a pressing challenge faced by SMEs today.”
Balderton Capital is a venture firm supporting Europe’s “best” founders across various stages from Seed to IPO. It invests in a wide range of technology sectors including fintech, B2B SaaS, digital health, mobility, gaming, and marketplaces. The firm’s past investments include Darktrace, Depop, and Revolut, while current portfolio includes Aircall, Revolut, and Wayve among others.
Philip Specht, Partner at AENU, says, “Cost and sustainability targets are influencing the energy procurement process of European companies. trawa is uniquely positioned to serve both targets and become the one-stop-shop for SMEs’ green energy needs, from securing renewable electricity to managing consumption and distributed energy resources.”
AENU is a climate tech venture capital fund focused on early-stage companies in Northern Europe. Its team includes former unicorn founders (Forto), climate activists (LFCA), and institutional investors (Earlybird/ Macquarie/ Speedinvest). Its portfolio includes Monta, Alcemy, Agreena, UNDO and Ocell.
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