Copenhagen-based Reel has secured €5 million in seed funding led by Transition, a climate-focused venture capital fund, with participation from existing investors like UVC Partners, The Footprint Firm and a group of energy specialists and successful founders including the Chief Project Development Officer of Climeworks, Daniel Nathan, and the Co-founder of Netlify, Christian Bach. The company specializes in revolutionizing the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) model, allowing businesses to align their electricity purchases with the development of new solar and wind projects, contributing to Europe’s renewable energy goals. With the funding, Reel aims to expand its operations and accelerate the global implementation of its innovative B2B electricity supply model, responding to the increasing demand for sustainable energy solutions in the business sector.
Reel is an energy tech company based in Copenhagen that focuses on transforming the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) model. The company enables businesses to align their electricity purchases with the development of new solar and wind projects. By doing so, Reel contributes to the advancement of Europe’s renewable energy transition. In the past year, Reel has experienced rapid customer growth, consisting of large, industry leading customers. With new renewable energy projects already slated for 2024, Reel is allowing all companies, regardless of size, to drive the energy transition forward and access fixed-cost electricity.
David Helgason, Co-founder & Partner at Transition notes: “Reel combines climate impact and direct cost savings and predictability. Reel’s solution is a breath of fresh air as it offers an avenue for companies to spearhead the energy transition in an easy, genuine, and financially attractive way.”
Now, Reel will kick off a comprehensive growth plan aimed at expanding its product offering and introducing its unique electricity procurement model to carbon-intensive energy markets across Europe. This will include growing its team, seeking out exceptional talent worldwide in the fields of tech, energy, and commercial & operations.
Reel believes that changing the way electricity is bought, used, and reported by companies needs to be front and center in the fight against climate change. Electricity is one of the main sources of CO₂ emissions globally1, with the commercial and industrial sectors accounting for two-thirds of total global electricity consumption2.
Reel’s solution is an important alternative to the conventional way companies purchase renewable energy: i.e., Guarantees of Origin or Renewable Energy Certificates. These certificates are criticized for not leading to actual CO₂ reductions3, despite companies using them to claim that they are consuming carbon-free electricity.
Jon Sigvert, CEO and Co-founder of Reel, notes that: “The pervasiveness of flawed renewable energy certificates means that corporate CO₂ reduction efforts are greatly overestimated, further accentuating our risk of falling short of the Paris Agreement. In addition, conventional contracts are commercially unattractive as companies pay extra for the certificates. Reel’s technology solves for all of these issues, and allows all companies – big and small – to help accelerate the renewable energy transition.”
Reel’s unique technology transforms traditional Power Purchase Agreements (a type of electricity contract) into an accessible model that allows all companies to achieve carbon-free energy consumption every hour of every day, an approach already being used by larger players like Google4 and Microsoft5.
Reel is disrupting a legacy industry that has seen little innovation in recent decades. Reel’s innovative PPAs mean that every company’s electricity contract helps build a new solar or wind park. As Europe plans for a tripling of renewable energy capacity by 20306, Reel’s technology aims to catalyse the corporate sector’s contribution to this goal.
According to Jon Sigvert, companies’ renewable energy intentions are already present but need to be turned into actual CO₂ reductions:
“Companies are increasingly aware of their carbon footprint7 and are implementing measures to take responsibility for their impact on the climate and the electricity they consume. This is a promising development, but to effectively solve the climate crisis in time, these intentions need to be converted into actual CO₂ reductions. And that is exactly what we help companies accomplish.”
Mona Alsubaei, Partner at Transition and board member at Reel adds: “The need for solutions that accelerate the energy transition while ensuring financial certainty for companies has never been more urgent. Reel changes the way companies purchase electricity. We are excited to partner with Reel to support the transition to truly green and renewable energy. We are impressed by the team’s ability, execution to date, and customer traction. With this significant funding round, Reel will be in a prime position to conquer and expand to the European PPA market and beyond.
Alexander Kiltz, Principal at UVC Partners and board member at Reel says: “Since leading Reel’s pre-seed round, we have witnessed the team demonstrating its ability to execute an elaborate business model deeply embedded into the electricity value chain. Reel launched as a certified electricity provider and signed multiple PPAs by winning some of Denmark’s leading companies as customers and working with multiple renewable energy developers in Denmark and beyond. We look forward to the next steps in Reel’s journey by launching additional products and expanding into further geographies.”
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