Southern Cross Venture Partners was launched in 2006 by veteran venture capitalists who have managed and operated companies themselves. Southern Cross Venture Partners assist early stage technology companies that demonstrate the potential for exceptional growth and market leadership build significant businesses. The founding principle of Southern Cross is partnership -- they are passionately committed to doing everything they can to help their portfolio companies succeed. Their team has a strong record of utilizing their start-up and management experience, industry knowledge, network of business/customer relationships, and recruiting skills to assist in building significant shareholder value.  Southern Cross is currently investing in companies that fit their investment criteria. They prefer to act as lead or co-lead in the early stages where they have experience that can help build value rapidly. They do not have a minimum investment amount, however, a typical initial investment will be $2 million to $5 million with an ability to invest more money in later rounds.

Southern Cross Venture Partners

TotalEnergies Ventures is the venture capital arm of Total. As part of Total's commitment to a better energy future, TotalEnergies Ventures is focused on finding, funding and fostering high-potential start-ups which will contribute to creating a low carbon future. Current areas of interest include Renewables, Distributed Energy, New Mobility, Energy Access, Energy Storage, Bio-Plastics, Circular Economy, Carbon Capture and Hydrogen.

TotalEnergies Ventures

Next47 is a $1.2 billion independent, global venture firm backed by Siemens AG. We specialize in enterprise-focused businesses, make fast decisions and share deep conviction with the teams we invest in. We have the resources and the motivation to unleash maximum potential in every startup we work with. We leverage our own global footprint as well as the Siemens ecosystem that spans a broad set of industries across hundreds of countries and regions worldwide.

Next47

AGL is one of Australia's leading integrated energy companies, and the largest ASX listed owner, operator and developer of renewable energy generation in the country.   Drawing on over 175 years of experience, AGL operates retail and merchant energy businesses, power generation assets and an upstream gas portfolio. AGL also has one of Australia's largest retail energy and dual fuel customer bases.   AGL has a diverse power generation portfolio including base, peaking and intermediate generation plants, spread across traditional thermal generation as well as renewable sources including hydro, wind, landfill gas and biomass.   AGL is taking action toward creating a sustainable energy future for their investors, communities and customers.

AGL Energy

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency is a government agency that provides funding and knowledge sharing to accelerate renewable energy innovation in Australia.  ARENA is an independent statutory authority established under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997, tasked with the objectives of improving the competitiveness of renewable energy technologies and increasing the supply of renewable energy in Australia. ARENA has approximately $3 billion to invest in renewable energy projects. From its commencement on 1 July 2012, ARENA has become responsible for the administration of committed projects and measures from initiatives formerly administered by the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy and the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (RET).  ARENA became responsible for the activities of the Australian Solar Institute (ASI)  on 1 January 2013.

Australian Renewable Energy Agency

The Ecosystem Integrity Fund (“EIF”) is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies contributing to environmental sustainability. It seeks to demonstrate that there is no trade-off between having a positive impact and achieving outstanding financial returns.  The movement toward environmental sustainability is making incremental improvements to the largest industries in the world.  Over the next several decades, the economy will be transformed by this movement. Sustainability is fundamentally about making things better: more efficient, more functional, less toxic, less costly.  This is the next phase of the Industrial Revolution.

Ecosystem Integrity Fund

Evergy Ventures is the venture capital arm of Evergy specializing in investments in growth capital and early stage companies. It seeks to invest in the energy sector focusing on opportunities in the customer energy solutions, energy infrastructure industries, energy marketing, environmental remediation, infrastructure security, and renewables services, but is open to attractive investments outside of these sectors within the energy value chain.  Evergy Ventures prefers to make investments using equity and debt instruments. It prefers to invest in North America with a special focus on Midwest based companies.  Evergy Ventures began operation in 2015. It has its headquarters in Kansas City in Missouri.

Evergy Ventures

Equinor Ventures helps and invests in businesses that are reshaping the energy industry. The company is based in Stavanger, Rogaland.

Equinor Energy Ventures

Sunverge Energy

Sunverge Energy provides integrated solar solutions for distributed generation and storage. It offers Sunverge Solar Integration System (SIS) Release 1.2 that distributes the generation and storage of renewable energy; and Sunverge SISport load management software that supports strategies for shaping and shifting peak residential load.  Sunverge Energy serves homeowners, small– to medium–sized businesses, utilities, and electricity regulators. Dean Sanders and Kenneth Munson founded it in 2010, with its headquarters in Stockton in California and an additional office in Fortitude Valley in Australia.

Sunverge Energy is a provider of an industry-leading distributed energy resource (DER) control, orchestration, and aggregation platform. The company's Virtual Power Plant (VPP) platform utilizes real-time data at the edge of the grid to manage and optimize DERs, Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS), and smart devices. This enables comprehensive demand management while offering and co-optimizing both consumer and grid services.

Sunverge expands virtual power plant capabilities

Sunverge and ComEd Partner on Innovative Front

ComEd to roll out residential energy storage systems for grid resiliency in northern Illinois

Sunverge and ComEd Partner on Innovative Front- of- Meter Residential Battery Energy Storage

Smart Homes: Energy & Water Solutions

Nissan Motor

To design and deliver an integrated EV management system incorporating both Vehicle-to-Home and Vehicle-to-Grid services

Electrifying passenger and commercial travel

EV Economy

Companies that facilitate EV charging. Includes both charging infrastructure providers and network operators. Also includes vehicle-to-grid technologies.

Sunverge Energy is a provider of an industry-leading distributed energy resource (DER) control, orchestration, and aggregation platform. The company's Virtual Power Plant (VPP) platform utilizes real-time data at the edge of the grid to manage and optimize DERs, Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS), and smart devices. This enables comprehensive demand management while offering and co-optimizing both consumer and grid services.
Sunverge's intelligent home energy management platform supports extended efficiency levels and control strategies for individual thermostats, controllable loads such as water heaters or pool pumps, and electric vehicle chargers. The platform integrates with utility Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS) and Demand Response Management Systems (DRMS) using the OpenADR 2.0 billion protocol to provide reliable and rapid Demand Response using behind-the-meter energy storage and load management resources.
The VPP platform's advanced DER-enabled demand charge reduction algorithm uses aggregated fleet data collected in near real-time to reduce peak demand of groups of sites from multiple locations, allowing them to operate as a virtual nanogrid to minimize net aggregated demand. The Power Flow Limit Enforcement algorithm provides additional protections based on battery cell-level current and inverter temperatures, ensuring optimal system performance in varying environmental and operating conditions.
In February 2022, Sunverge partnered with Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), the largest electric utility in Illinois, to provide a battery energy storage solution for an innovative front-of-the-meter residential project. This project aims to enhance feeder-level system reliability and resiliency, and reduce the duration and frequency of customer outages by locating the energy storage systems in front of the residential meter and integrating tightly with utility distribution SCADA.

Swell Energy is a provider of virtual power plant (VPP) programs that aggregate and optimize distributed energy resources (DERs) such as rooftop solar and battery storage systems. The company's GridAmp software platform utilizes AI and machine learning to coordinate these DERs across the grid, intelligently meeting fluctuating energy demand. This helps utilities deliver cleaner and more reliable energy to customers while reducing dependence on fossil fuel peaker plants.
Swell partners with utilities, customers, and third-party service providers to create VPPs. Through these programs, customers receive bill savings, compensation (GridRevenue), and enhanced energy security. In return, their solar-powered batteries are integrated into a network that supports grid reliability, stability, and potential cost reductions for utilities.
As of November 2022, Swell had contracted 600 MWh of VPPs across 26,000 energy storage systems in homes and businesses throughout the US. These VPPs provide grid services in utility territories like Hawaii, California, and New York. In Hawaii, Swell's 80 MW VPP helps the utility maximize wind energy utilization by storing excess wind power in customer batteries.
In December 2022, Swell partnered with Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) to launch a residential VPP program aiming for 20 MWh and 10 MW of renewable capacity initially, with potential to scale up to 54 MWh and 27 MW.
In February 2024, Swell acquired residential and commercial solar installer Renu Energy Solutions, expanding its footprint across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic markets. The combined company aims to drive innovation and provide tailored clean energy solutions through Renu's project development capabilities and Swell's financing and VPP technology.

Swell Energy

ZOLA Electric is a leading emerging market energy technology company that aims to eradicate energy inequality globally. The company's roots trace back to Tanzania, where its founders observed communities lacking access to reliable and affordable energy sources, relying instead on dirty, expensive, and difficult-to-manage forms of energy like diesel, kerosene, and lead-acid batteries.Over a decade ago, ZOLA began by installing smart, connected lithium-ion batteries and solar systems to power basic energy needs such as lighting for rural communities. This approach of deploying networked, connected devices has driven the energy transition in emerging markets. Today, ZOLA has developed the world's first enterprise technology platform, purpose-built for energy access markets, combining a family of products controlled by a single operating system, ZOLA Vision.ZOLA's technology platform enables community-level electrification by facilitating localized solar energy production and providing smart technology with remote management tools. The platform is designed to deliver reliable, affordable, and clean power to the 3 billion people and hundreds of millions of businesses globally that lack access to it.Since its inception in Tanzania, ZOLA has expanded its operations to 10 countries across four continents, delivering affordable, reliable, and clean energy to over 2 million people, along with numerous schools, clinics, and businesses. In December 2022, the company launched its platform in Haiti, partnering with local renewable energy pioneer Haiti Green Solutions to address the country's energy crisis. This marked ZOLA's first market entry into North America.In November 2022, ZOLA commissioned a 120 kWp distributed solar mini-grid system in the Nyagatare district of Rwanda, providing power to over 1,000 homes, businesses, and institutions in the villages of Gakagati I and II. The project, developed using ZOLA's modular INFINITY technology, received support from organizations like Facebook (now Meta), the Shell Foundation, USID, and Endev.

Zola Electric

1KOMMA5° is a carbon-neutral energy systems provider based in Hamburg, Germany. The company offers proprietary energy IoT systems, including "Heartbeat," an intelligent energy management solution that optimizes home energy usage in response to fluctuations in energy prices. This technology allows users to achieve significant cost savings by automatically utilizing renewable energy sources like solar power when electricity prices are lowest.
1KOMMA5° operates a virtual power plant that networks and pools customers' photovoltaic systems, electricity storage, heat pumps, and charging columns, enhancing the profitability and efficiency of these interconnected systems. The company's business model involves investing in electrical sector companies focused on photovoltaic systems, charging infrastructure, and heat pumps, providing them with software solutions, centralized services, bundled purchasing, growth capital, and equity stakes in 1KOMMA5° Holding.
In June 2023, the company acquired the Danish solar company Viasol A/S. As of October 2023, 1KOMMA5° had the capacity to convert 500,000 buildings per year to climate-neutral power generation, heat, and mobility solutions. It operated over 65 sites with around 1,500 employees across Germany, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Denmark, Spain, and Australia.
1KOMMA5° offers a dynamic electricity tariff called "Dynamic Pulse," which guarantees customers the lowest and cleanest electricity at a maximum of 15 cents/kWh for two years. The company's solar modules, produced sustainably in Germany, generate electricity at approximately five cents/kWh, ensuring cost savings and inflation-free energy for over 30 years.

1Komma5°

Bboxx is a UK-founded data-driven platform that provides African consumers with access to innovative products and services, including plug-and-play solar home systems (SHS), solar-powered water pumps, clean cooking solutions, smartphones, and e-mobility solutions. The company utilizes its proprietary fully integrated operating system, Bboxx Pulse, combined with an extensive on-the-ground network to connect customers with these life-changing offerings.Bboxx's core products are solar-powered battery boxes designed for households, enabling users to power small appliances like lights, mobile phones, refrigerators, and computers. The company follows a pay-as-you-go business model, allowing customers to pay for what they use through mobile money, making it affordable for low-income individuals. As of 2020, Bboxx had positively impacted over 3.6 million lives across Africa by providing access to clean energy and other essential products.In September 2022, Bboxx acquired solar home system provider PEG Africa, consolidating its leading position in the market and expanding its geographical footprint to Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Mali, bringing its total operating markets to 10 countries. As of 2023, Bboxx's products were actively used by over 643,000 people, resulting in better lighting, improved connectivity, and the mitigation of more than 65,000 tCO2e emissions through the replacement of kerosene lanterns and other fuels.In March 2022, Bboxx launched the Flexx product line, consisting of a portable solar lantern and a multi-light system with charging ports, aimed at serving rural customers at the bottom of the energy pyramid in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Bboxx

Aquion Energy was a Pennsylvania-Washington D.C. based company that manufactured proprietary Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHI) batteries and energy storage systems. These saltwater batteries used sodium ions and employed widely available materials like carbon, cotton, saltwater, and manganese oxide as the primary inputs. Aquion's technology was optimized for stationary and long-duration daily cycling applications such as off-grid systems, microgrids, energy management, and grid-scale energy storage. The non-toxic and safe nature of the batteries, combined with their ability to be fully discharged without harm, made them suitable for renewable energy integration and reduced reliance on fossil fuels. Aquion aimed to provide low-cost and sustainable energy storage solutions.
In March 2017, after facing financial difficulties, Aquion Energy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and ceased operations, sales, and manufacturing. The company was subsequently acquired by a Chinese-affiliated entity, Juline-Titans LLC, for USD 9 million in June 2017. Following the acquisition, Aquion closed its Pennsylvania plant in September 2017 and reportedly moved operations to China with the new owners intending to scale up by targeting larger commercial clients.

Aquion Energy

Companies that develop advanced energy generation technologies for houses (mostly solar).

Companies that develop battery storage solutions for home use.

Companies that develop real-time energy usage and efficiency monitoring solutions and generate energy reports. Includes companies that offer demand management solutions to monetize excess capacity.

Companies that offer water leak detection sensor systems and smart sprinkler systems.

Companies that assist home improvements (related to energy optimization) by bearing the upfront cost and charging users monthly fees based on energy usage.

Uses AI/ML to monitor and provide recommendations on energy and water usage

Focuses on achieving sustainability through renewable energy, saving and storing excess energy, etc.

Sunverge Energy

Sources

About EDGE

Contact Us

Resources

Area of Focus

Technology Research Made Effortless