EDP Ventures Brazil, the EDP Group's venture capital investment vehicle, participated in the R$ 3 million round, led by Canary, at Clarke Energia. The startup, created in December 2019, guides companies to save on their energy bill through tariff studies, energy efficiency, consumption monitoring or energy purchase on the open market.

Clarke Energia provides, on average, a 10 to 20% reduction in the monthly electricity bill, identifying tariff inefficiencies and presenting solutions. The startup simulates how much the company would save if it migrated to the White Rate mode and provides guidance on the efficiency of the company's operations.

“Clarke's work is of great importance for medium and small businesses especially. In addition, the services offered have synergy with some areas of EDP's operation, such as sales and energy services. As a Corporate Venture Capital, our goal is to support the startups of our Portfolio with Know How of the energy market and the support of our Business Units, so that they can scale quickly”, highlights Carlos Andrade, Vice President of Strategy, Innovation and New Business of EDP Brasil.

“Clarke's mission is to change the way companies relate to energy. We understand that the electricity bill is complex, but if you understand a little you can save a lot and reduce your environmental impact. The support of EDP Ventures is essential to bring the luggage of the European electric sector to Brazil and to make our sector modernized”, said the CEO of Clarke Energia, Pedro Rio. 

Innovation Ecosystem

Created in May 2018, EDP Ventures Brasil is the first investment conduit of the Brazilian electric sector, with R$ 30 million in resources to be used for startups operating in six verticals: renewable energy, smart grids, energy storage, digital innovation (block chain, IoT, big data, virtual reality), customer-focused solutions and crosscutting areas (legaltechs, fintechs, HRtechs). Interested parties can access the website www.edpventures.vc for further details.

“We believe in the company's growth potential, especially due to the commercial traction presented in a few months of operation and the transparent way in which they are able to communicate with their customers and help them have more autonomy to manage their electricity costs. Canary's support also signals the attractiveness of the investment and the great potential of the startup”, explains Rosario Cannata, Investment manager at EDP Ventures Brasil.

In addition to Clarke, startups Voltbras, Colab, Dom Rock, Delfos and Fractal Engenharia e Sistemas have already received investments in Brazil. Since 2008, EDP Group's Venture Capital conduit s have invested 38 million euros globally in 33 startups, which together employ more than 1200 employees and have more than 140 million euros of revenue per year.

Energy efficiency and free market

The UN seeks to double the global rate of efficiency improvement by 2030 because it understands the practice as one of the main pillars for generating sustainable energy and helping countries to minimize the worrying reflexes of global warming. In Brazil, the goal established after the Paris Agreement, of 2016, aims to reduce electricity consumption by 10% and still reduce polluting gases by 43%.

As determined by the Federal Government, the National Agency of Electrical Energy (Aneel) and the Electric Energy Trading Chamber (CCEE), they are carrying out studies on how to open the free energy market to residential consumers. The government measure also defines that there will be a gradual reduction, starting in 2021, of requirements for companies to start operating with greater flexibility in the free electricity market.

About EDP in Brazil

With over 20 years of experience, EDP is one of the largest private companies in the electricity sector operating throughout the value chain. The Company, which has over 10,000 direct and outsourced employees, operates in Transmission, Trading and Energy Services and has six hydroelectric generation units and one thermal power station. In Distribution, it serves about 3.5 million customers in São Paulo and Espírito Santo, in addition to being the main shareholder of Celesc, in Santa Catarina. In Brazil, it is a reference in areas such as Innovation, Governance and Sustainability, having been in the B3´s Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) for 14 consecutive years.