LONDON
March 22, 2023 9:00 AM

Piclo raises £8.3 million to accelerate decarbonisation of grid internationally

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  • Funding will see leading energy flexibility marketplace grow into new regions across Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific
  • Series B led by Future Energy Ventures and Clean Growth Fund will support Piclo’s growing team and investment in further product development
Piclo Team Offsite

LONDON, 22 March 2023 - Piclo, the world’s leading flexibility services marketplace, has closed its Series B funding round and raised £8.3 million to further strengthen its market leading position in the UK and Europe, as well as grow its international presence in the US, and Asia-Pacific. The funds will also support the rapidly growing team and further investment in product development. 

Piclo’s series B funding round was co-led by Future Energy Ventures (FEV) and Clean Growth Fund (CGF), followed by existing investor Green Angel Syndicate and new investors Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions (Toshiba ESS), Sustainable Future Ventures (SFV) and Japan Energy Fund (JEF).

Piclo Flex is already one of the world’s largest flexibility marketplaces - with over 55,000 assets registered representing over 16GW of flexibility and has facilitated 1.1GW of flexibility capacity worth over £57 million. Backed by its existing and new investors, Piclo is aiming to establish partnerships in new markets in Europe, the US and Asia-Pacific. 

Founded in 2013 by James Johnston, Andy Kilner and Alice Tyler, Piclo’s mission is to decarbonise the grid. Piclo Flex, its end-to-end marketplace, enables system operators (SOs) to procure, dispatch and settle local flexibility services from flexibility service providers (FSPs) like electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries, to balance the grid during times of constraint, helping to make energy networks smarter, flexible and more sustainable. 

James Johnston, CEO at Piclo, said:

We are delighted that our investors have chosen to support Piclo and enable our vision of a decarbonised grid by 2050. We believe that flexibility solutions through our marketplace have a critical role to play in the global journey to net zero and will help deliver increased energy security at lower cost, building on the great progress we’ve already made in the UK. It is an exciting time to be part of a UK cleantech ecosystem that will deliver the solutions we need to achieve net zero. Whilst we had minimal exposure to SVB, we applaud the quick action of the US and UK authorities which has reassured the business community.”

Jan Lozek, Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Future Energy Ventures, said:

“We are thrilled to invest in this fast-growing company which has a crucial role to play in the decarbonisation of the energy system and in the transition to a net zero future. Given volatile supply and demand patterns and location mismatches between renewable generation sources and major energy consumption centres, flexibility is key to accelerating the energy transition and balancing the energy system. We believe Piclo’s digital marketplace platform is central to that and estimate the company’s long-term cumulative impact potential by 2050 could reach 1.0 GtCO2e, which is c.a. 2.5% of the total global GHG emissions in 2021.”

Beverley Gower-Jones, Managing Partner of Clean Growth Fund, said: 

Piclo was Clean Growth Fund’s first investment in December 2020, and since then the team has gone from strength to strength, growing its business in the UK and the Continent and now working alongside National Grid to deliver a new flexibility marketplace in New York State. Given its success to date and the pressure on network operators to decarbonise, we are delighted to invest again in Piclo and support the company’s next phase of growth.”

Cam Ross, Chief Executive Officer of Green Angel Syndicate, said: 

"Our specialist members have been investors in Piclo since 2018. Piclo has continually increased its climate impact since then, through strong UK growth and international expansion. We are delighted to further support the excellent Piclo team and their future plans, in this round." 

Yohei Kiguchi, PhD, CEO and Representative Director of ENECHANGE Ltd, said:

“From our experience building and growing our own energy data business in Japan, we believe Piclo’s energy marketplace is promising, and we are eager to support their growth. Moreover, to reach net zero, one of the key goals is to decarbonize the grid, which is estimated to account for over 20 billion tons in emission reductions. Piclo’s solution and mission are directly aligned with this goal, and we are excited to be one of the investors in this funding round.”

Matthew Chagan, Partner of  Sustainable Future Ventures, said:

“We believe that real estate and infrastructure asset owners can be powerful contributors to a future grid that is flexible and clean.  To do that though, we’ll need flexibility marketplaces like Piclo’s that can power hundreds of thousands of these assets and ensure that incentives are aligned.  We’re excited to be part of the journey in building that bridge between the next generation grid and the built environment.”

Mr. Tadasu Yotsuyanagi, Director, President and CEO of Toshiba ESS, said:

“We are honoured to work with Piclo. Toshiba ESS will continue to contribute to the realisation of a sustainable society by providing infrastructure services that improve the value of energy systems by making full use of Toshiba ESS’s wealth of knowledge and achievements in the energy field, technologies, know-how, and digital spaces.”

Piclo has currently rolled out its flexibility procurement platform, Piclo Flex, in six global markets: in the UK, Distribution System Operators (UK Power Networks, SP Energy Networks, Electricity North West); and the Transmission System Operator (NG ESO); in Ireland (ESBN); in Italy (E-Distribuzione); in Portugal ( E-REDES); in Lithuania ( Energijos Skirstymo Operatorius AB (ESO)); and in the United States in New York State (National Grid).

About Piclo

[This notice was update on 26th March, 2024]

Piclo’s mission is to decarbonise the grid. We develop software solutions that make our energy networks smarter, flexible and more sustainable. Piclo Max, our market access platform, enables flex sellers (such as EV and battery owners) to access all electricity markets from one place. Piclo Flex, our flexibility services marketplace, enables flex buyers (system operators) to source flexible electricity from flex sellers during times of high demand or low supply.

To date, Piclo has over 300,000 registered flexible assets representing 22 GW of registered flex capacity, with flexibility contracts awarded totalling £74m and 2.6 GW+ of flexible capacity procured.

Piclo currently operates in six global markets: in the UK, supporting all six Distribution System Operators (UK Power Networks, SP Energy Networks, Electricity North West, Northern Powergrid, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks and National Grid Electricity Distribution); and the Transmission System Operator (TSO) (the ESO); in Ireland (ESB Networks), Italy (E-Distribuzione), Portugal (E-REDES)); in Australia (CitiPower, Powercor); and in the United States in New York State (National Grid) and Connecticut (United Illuminating). Aside from its leading position in the UK, Piclo has a growing presence in Europe, USA and the Asia-Pacific. 

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