Capital Energy creates a €20 Million Corporate Venturing fund to transform the energy sector

• The Capital Energy Quantum fund has been started up with the aim of creating a portfolio of EnergyTech start-ups with the potential to transform the energy sector over the next 5 years in areas such as energy services, sustainable mobility, smart networks, digital utility and optimisation of renewable energy generation and energy storage.

Madrid, 1st  October 2020. Capital Energy, a Spanish 100%-renewable energy company, has started up Capital Energy Quantum, a Corporate Venturing fund with €20,000,000 to identify a portfolio of EnergyTech start-ups with the potential to transform the energy sector, reach agreements and invest in them over the next five years. To do so, it has reached an agreement with 7r Ventures, a holding company for technology companies based in Madrid.

The ultimate aim of this project is to give impetus to the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the energy sector in Spain and Portugal, identifying and investing in start-ups that will set the trend for the future in fields such as energy services, sustainable mobility, digital utility and optimisation of renewable energy and energy storage operations, amongst others.

Capital Energy will provide Capital Energy Quantum with its in-depth knowledge of the energy sector, access to its assets and infrastructure and also to its extensive customer portfolio, so that the selected start-ups can take advantage of it. It will also make developing solutions that can easily be integrated into its future retail arm possible and, therefore, accelerate its arrival on the market. For its part, within this alliance, 7r Ventures will contribute its experience in Venture Capital and Corporate Venturing along with its extensive capability for business analysis, its own methodologies and its talent network to help Capital Energy Quantum to identify, collaborate with and invest in start-ups that will define the future of the energy sector in Spain.

Specifically, this project, which has a budget of €20,000,000, will be used to identify opportunities in the following strategic areas: customer-centred solutions, digital utility, sustainable mobility, smart networks and renewable energy storage and generation. To do so, it will combine association with start-ups (Venture Client), direct investment (Venture Capital) and building new businesses (Venture Building).

Capital Energy Quantum is a part of Capital Energy’s strategic commitment to drive entrepreneurship and create a massive network of know-how and talent on the Spanish energy market, while, at the same time, consolidating the transformation of the Company into a customer-centric enterprise and improving core business efficiency in the short and medium terms. Erika Escolar Eguia, Head of Capital Energy Quantum, has said: “We want to be a transformational vector of the Company with a focus on strategic returns in the long term. The aim is to adapt and anticipate trends, placing the customer at the centre.”

Capital Energy took part in the Positive Energy tender, along with other energy sector companies. This is an initiative to contribute to Spain’s economic and social recovery after the health, social and financial crisis caused by Covid-19 by supporting innovative start-up and scale-up projects associated with sustainable mobility, decarbonisation and sustainability, social impact, digitisation and 4.0 in the next initiatives.

After the first round a pilot was closed off, via Capital Energy Quantum, with the companies Voltaware and Liight. A term sheet was also signed with the latter with a view to a possible investment depending on the results of the trial.

In addition, Capital Energy Quantum is taking active part in the most important events in the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem, such as South Summit or Start Up Olé. Capital Energy´s strategic plan envisages an accumulated investment of more than €10 billion over the next 5 years and backs innovation to achieve energy transition goals in the regions in which it operates.

Therefore, its strategy as a 100%-renewable electricity firm moves to integration into the entire value chain starting with renewable energy generation, and also integration into the most innovative links in the chain with a commitment to developing energy storage and renewable hydrogen projects.