Our Investment in Fever
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Energy markets are changing and we need stability now more than ever. Enter Fever: an API-based software platform that aggregates, orchestrates and optimizes distributed energy resources (DERs) to build a more resilient grid.
Europe, leading the shift to renewable energy, has set ambitious climate targets - namely to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, with the further goal of achieving climate neutrality by 20501. While substantial progress has been made, the transition to 100% renewable energy has introduced new challenges, largely due to the intermittency of renewable energy resources such as wind and solar and the growth of DERs (batteries, EVs, etc). While traditional grids have provided centralized, one-way power flow, we believe future grids will be largely bi-directional, where decentralized energy assets will have the ability to produce, consume and share energy with the grid, creating a Virtual Power Plant (“VPP”) that is comprised of, and powered by, these DERs.
While the potential for this market is nothing new, and the promises of VPPs have been heralded for over a decade, the war in Ukraine laid bare the risks of a globalized energy system and intensified the desire of countries to build more resilient domestic energy resources and systems. In Europe, this took the form of the RePowerPlan, which has continued to drive investment in renewable energy, along with falling cost curves that have enabled broader consumer and corporate adoption. In fact, in 2022, solar and wind power generated ̃22% of Europe’s electricity, overtaking gas (at 20%) for the first time in history2. As more of these assets come online and power demands expound over the coming decade3, the need to aggregate, activate, and orchestrate these assets has become ever more critical.
As these traditional market structures evolve and new ecosystems are formed, we think agile technologies and visionary technologists will be paramount to achieving a clean energy future. Leaders need to have an audacity of ambition and tenacity in execution that will challenge the status quo and drive new market formation, qualities that the Fever team markedly exhibits. Hailing from iZettle and Spotify, two of the most successful high-growth technology companies in Europe, Klas Johansson, Ruben Flam, Ron Stolero and Jonatan Raber have already demonstrated an agility of thought, technology sophistication, and level of systems thinking in their initial years of operation that we believe truly differentiate them in this market. While they may be “outsiders” in this complex and “legacy” industry, they have experience revolutionizing network-driven businesses and understand the opportunities that arise from digitizing enormous, underserved markets; and they are inspired and energized by the challenges that lay ahead.
Their vision is simple but the realities are complex: a world powered by renewables where anyone can provide flexibility to support the grid. As DERs continue to scale, and energy demands ever increase, there is even greater urgency to this mission. As we see it, understanding rapidly evolving market structures, regulatory frameworks, and the motivations of traditional industry participants will be critical to success. A challenge of this scale calls for radical collaboration that is empowered - not disrupted by - technology. In this spirit, we have engaged two exceptionally seasoned executives in the European energy markets, Holger Lichtschläger and Niek den Hollander, who have spent a combined 35+ years at Vattenfall, Statkraft, E.ON and Uniper, to join Fever’s Board of Directors. Their depth of knowledge and strategic perspectives on the evolution of these markets and the players within them continue to provide what we think are powerful, actionable insights. It is a radical collaboration between traditional industry and visionary technology that we believe will drive important success for Fever and the broader European energy market. Feel the heat? It’s Fever.
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1European Environment Agency. “Is Europe reducing its greenhouse gas emissions?” 22 June 2022.
2World Economic Forum. “Wind and solar power generated more electricity in the EU last year than gas did. Here’s how”. 31 Jan 2023.
3International Energy Agency. “World Energy Outlook 2023”. 24 October 2023.
Energy markets are changing and we need stability now more than ever. Enter Fever: an API-based software platform that aggregates, orchestrates and optimizes distributed energy resources (DERs) to build a more resilient grid.
Europe, leading the shift to renewable energy, has set ambitious climate targets - namely to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, with the further goal of achieving climate neutrality by 20501. While substantial progress has been made, the transition to 100% renewable energy has introduced new challenges, largely due to the intermittency of renewable energy resources such as wind and solar and the growth of DERs (batteries, EVs, etc). While traditional grids have provided centralized, one-way power flow, we believe future grids will be largely bi-directional, where decentralized energy assets will have the ability to produce, consume and share energy with the grid, creating a Virtual Power Plant (“VPP”) that is comprised of, and powered by, these DERs.
While the potential for this market is nothing new, and the promises of VPPs have been heralded for over a decade, the war in Ukraine laid bare the risks of a globalized energy system and intensified the desire of countries to build more resilient domestic energy resources and systems. In Europe, this took the form of the RePowerPlan, which has continued to drive investment in renewable energy, along with falling cost curves that have enabled broader consumer and corporate adoption. In fact, in 2022, solar and wind power generated ̃22% of Europe’s electricity, overtaking gas (at 20%) for the first time in history2. As more of these assets come online and power demands expound over the coming decade3, the need to aggregate, activate, and orchestrate these assets has become ever more critical.
As these traditional market structures evolve and new ecosystems are formed, we think agile technologies and visionary technologists will be paramount to achieving a clean energy future. Leaders need to have an audacity of ambition and tenacity in execution that will challenge the status quo and drive new market formation, qualities that the Fever team markedly exhibits. Hailing from iZettle and Spotify, two of the most successful high-growth technology companies in Europe, Klas Johansson, Ruben Flam, Ron Stolero and Jonatan Raber have already demonstrated an agility of thought, technology sophistication, and level of systems thinking in their initial years of operation that we believe truly differentiate them in this market. While they may be “outsiders” in this complex and “legacy” industry, they have experience revolutionizing network-driven businesses and understand the opportunities that arise from digitizing enormous, underserved markets; and they are inspired and energized by the challenges that lay ahead.
Their vision is simple but the realities are complex: a world powered by renewables where anyone can provide flexibility to support the grid. As DERs continue to scale, and energy demands ever increase, there is even greater urgency to this mission. As we see it, understanding rapidly evolving market structures, regulatory frameworks, and the motivations of traditional industry participants will be critical to success. A challenge of this scale calls for radical collaboration that is empowered - not disrupted by - technology. In this spirit, we have engaged two exceptionally seasoned executives in the European energy markets, Holger Lichtschläger and Niek den Hollander, who have spent a combined 35+ years at Vattenfall, Statkraft, E.ON and Uniper, to join Fever’s Board of Directors. Their depth of knowledge and strategic perspectives on the evolution of these markets and the players within them continue to provide what we think are powerful, actionable insights. It is a radical collaboration between traditional industry and visionary technology that we believe will drive important success for Fever and the broader European energy market. Feel the heat? It’s Fever.
________________
1European Environment Agency. “Is Europe reducing its greenhouse gas emissions?” 22 June 2022.
2World Economic Forum. “Wind and solar power generated more electricity in the EU last year than gas did. Here’s how”. 31 Jan 2023.
3International Energy Agency. “World Energy Outlook 2023”. 24 October 2023.
