Instagrid: Mobile power can also be simple and clean
“Software-defined Battery” technology from instagrid offers the opportunity to structure mobile power in a way that is simple, flexible and emission-free. With its portable battery storage, the start-up from Stuttgart makes work easier for users, freeing electricity from time and place. The High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) is financing the innovative infrastructure solution with a seven-figure investment together with two Family Offices.
Stuttgart / 30.01.2019 – instagrid GmbH, a provider of mobile power infrastructure, receives funding in the millions to bring its product development to fruition. The lead investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) from Bonn as well as the Family Offices Segnalita Ventures GmbH from Austria and the Swiss Martin Global AG are behind the new investment. Founded on January 1, 2018, by Dr Sebastian Berning and Dr Andreas Sedlmayr, instagrid specialises in the development of portable battery storages. The start-up thus offers users a mobile power supply for working at temporary locations. “With our innovative infrastructure solution, we want to help companies from different sectors achieve greater productivity and efficiency,” Managing Director Berning explains.
To reduce the size and weight of the energy source, instagrid has developed a “Software-defined Battery” technology with a modular design. The result is a 90 percent reduction in space and weight required for voltage transformation by comparison to the current state of the art. By using cost-effective Commercial off-the-Shelf (COTS) components, such as are used in smartphone chargers, instagrid can lower its product costs. Compared with petrol-driven generators and combustion engines, the new battery storage is light and compact and has 40 percent lower operating costs. The weatherproof solution avoids noise and fumes. “Instagrid is bringing a technology to the market at the right time which is clearly distinct from its current competitors,” Peter Koch, CEO of Martin Global, says. According to him, the initial feedback from OEMs is impressive.
Sedlmayr is aware of the huge potential: “The global market for portable power generators with an output of less than 15 kilowatts currently amounts to more than 10 billion US dollars. This figure doesn’t even include applications in enclosed spaces.” In many industries, service providers and craftsmen are dependent on a reliable and, above all, quick and simple power supply. “High-performance battery storage is a product with great future potential across numerous segments,” emphasises Bernhard Letzner, Managing Director at Segnalita Ventures.
Initially, instagrid will focus on the construction industry, followed by event technology,
professional landscaping, garden and tree care and public sectors such as fire brigades and
humanitarian organisations.
“Through our investment and our network, we want to support instagrid in turning its vision of emission-free energy for all mobile machinery into a reality,” says Lucille Bonnet, Investment Manager at HTGF. “We believe the team is very well set up to take the product to mass production and unleash its great market potential – both in a professional environment and among consumers.” All three investors value the high level of expertise of the ambitious startup and are looking forward to a good working relationship.
As a first step, the company will sell its battery storage as white label products marketed through its brand partners’ existing distribution channels. “Then we will step up our market entry under our own brand through direct sales online. Specifically, this means leasing our solution at a usage-based price. This will be based on data collected by an integrated IoT connection,” Berning explains. Instagrid plans the widespread market launch for major European brand partners in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia for the first half of 2020.
