• Edinburgh software firm raises £500k as Edinburgh University and Energy Edge sign up
• Users ‘can halve their energy costs’ through on-site generation
• ‘First step in an energy revolution’ – Ian Marchant
Edinburgh green energy start-up OnGen has topped £500k total funding following its latest round, with backers including the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise, and early investor Ian Marchant.
At the same time the University of Edinburgh and US firm Energy Edge have signed up for their online platform – called OnGen Expert – which helps businesses reduce energy bills through generating their own green power.
Their online tool allows business managers a simple way to input their current energy usage and generate in-depth feasibility assessment on what green energy technologies they should adopt
“Energy bills can have a massive impact on the bottom line, and often the best way to reduce energy costs is to generate it onsite yourself,” says Christopher Trigg, the company’s chief executive.
“But one of the big challenges for business is finding out which renewable technologies are most appropriate for a particular user, and calculating what savings can be achieved.
“This can be a headache for non-experts – tariffs and support regimes keep changing, and technology costs are coming down, so it’s hard to work out what combination of energy sources is best. In some cases businesses which use this software can halve their energy costs,” Trigg says.
One of the early sign-ups has been Energy Edge, a Texas-based consultancy which advises businesses worldwide on energy use. Their UK Director, Bill Motion says:
“OnGen’s software provides clear outputs upon which our clients can make informed decisions. It does much of the otherwise laborious analytics involving a myriad of variables to evaluate the best combination of technologies available including wind turbines, solar PV, gas CHP and biomass. There is renewed interest in on-site generation to reduce energy costs and emissions whilst mitigating longer term risks associated with buying energy on the open market.”
The new funding will enable OnGen to add new technologies to their platform, including energy storage and ground source heat pumps.
“We are seeing growing interest from SMEs, consultancies and the public sector and that’s why we have new investors coming on board,” Trigg concludes.
Commenting on the OnGen platform, early investor Ian Marchant says:
“Putting reliable information in the hands of consumers is the first step on the road to an energy revolution as I believe that the energy system of the future will be far more decentralised and renewable-focused than our current fossil-based industrialised system.
“However, navigating this transition is not easy and OnGen are developing products that allow all consumers of energy to make informed decisions about the options available to them. OnGen are enabling an energy revolution and I’m delighted to be a part of this.”
Kerry Sharp, Head of the Scottish Investment Bank, said:
“It is good to see one of our investee companies making positive progress. This second funding round will allow the company to expand its product offering, making it more attractive to end users. We will continue to work with Chris and his team, to help them achieve their ambitious growth targets.”
OnGen believes the tool is ideal for the public sector, high energy SME users, farmers and funders of renewable projects, and the firm is also exploring the potential to roll out their product overseas.
MBM Commercial LLP advised OnGen’s board and managed the fund raising.
© 2017 OnGen Ltd
