A new venture capital fund, Future Energy Ventures, has been launched by E.ON, one of Europe’s largest energy utilities. The new fund, launched with €250 million invested capital in its portfolio, will focus on the global energy transition, by investing in digital and digitally enabled technologies that have the potential to redefine the future energy landscape.

According to Future Energy Ventures, the fund is based on the vision that the future of energy will see multiple sectors converging to deliver decarbonized, digitalized and democratized access to energy. This philosophy is spelled out on the fund’s website:

“Electric cars are not just vehicles, they are also mobile batteries; buildings can also be energy generators; homes and businesses can be smart and connected, regulating the energy they use and when. Frontier technologies such as AI and blockchain have a role to play in connecting these producers and consumers of energy together.”

The firm stated that it will invest in scalable and asset-light businesses seeking Series A and beyond funding Future Energy Ventures has operational hubs in Germany, Israel and Silicon Valley, Future Energy Ventures, and will look for both investments and scaling opportunities for its portfolio globally and new investment opportunities.

Future Energy Ventures will be led by Ines Bergmann-Nolting, who joined E.ON in 2013, and most recently served as Head of E.ON Scouting & Co-Investments, and by Jan Lozek, who joined E.ON through its 2019 acquisition of renewable energy company Innogy, where he served as Managing Director, Innovation.

Lozek said:

“The entire energy ecosystem is being transformed by technology at an ever-accelerating pace creating significant investment opportunities. Not only is the traditional energy supply chain moving towards smart generation and storage, but individuals, buildings and entire cities are becoming smarter and more connected, fundamentally redefining the role of energy in society. We are committed to accelerating the energy transformation by investing in and supporting the growth of the innovative businesses and business models that will help create and shape that future.”

Bergmann-Nolting added:

“Businesses need more than just money to succeed. They need collaboration, mentoring and the opportunity to partner with other organisations that can help them achieve scale. We seek to actively create value by bringing together dynamic and innovative start-ups, E.ON and affiliated businesses, and a growing set of partners and to create meaningful impact for mutual financial and strategic benefit. Use-case potential forms a key part of our investment decision-making and we aim to facilitate and support pilots and use case roll-outs within E.ON and across our ecosystem of partners for systematic scaling across the portfolio.”