Statkraft AS: Statkraft Ventures and ETF Partners invest 5 million US dollars in smart meter software leader Greenbird

(Düsseldorf/Oslo, 8 November 2016) Statkraft Ventures, with participation of ETF Partners, led the 5 million US dollars investment into the European smart meter software company Greenbird Integration Technology AS.

Greenbird is a profitable and rapidly growing software vendor and IT integration specialist based in Norway. The company is the clear leader in its home market, having served utilities representing more than 80 % of the Norwegian market, and it is continuing to build its international customer base. Its Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings Metercloud.io and Ghostwriter enable utilities to quickly implement flexible IT architectures for modern smart meter operations.

Smart meter software architectures are complex, yet they need to be integrated quickly and remain flexible and ever-evolving. Metercloud.io can be understood as an 'integration as a service' offering, which efficiently handles metering data and provides connectors to all of the common smart meter software applications. New applications are therefore on-boarded within days rather than months. And the system evolves with changes in the industry, regulation or security requirements, and thereby future-proofs a utility's systems without repeated integration efforts or dependency on a single software supplier.

"At Statkraft Ventures we are well aware of the software integration challenge utilities are facing as the grid is becoming increasingly intelligent. In order to capitalise on the smart grid opportunity, the IT systems need to adapt quickly. Greenbird provides exactly that flexibility and delivers it conveniently as a cloud service. Having proven its case in Norway, we see a big opportunity for Greenbird to further expand globally," says Matthias Dill, Managing Director of Statkraft Ventures.

"What convinced us about Greenbird was the vision and energy of its team," says Arne Morteani, Partner at ETF Partners. "They identified a real need in the market and leading utilities have already adopted their Metercloud.io service. We are delighted to provide additional capital to enable Greenbird's further growth."

"Traditional system integration is not suitable for smart meter operations," says Thorsten Heller, CEO at Greenbird. "What is needed is a brand new approach. Metercloud.io is a cloud-native integration platform that cuts integration times from 6-12 months to less than 1 month. More importantly, it creates a flexible, multi-vendor architecture that readily evolves as utilities seek to capture the more advanced benefits of smart meters. We are not competing with other software or big data vendors, but we are lowering the barriers for everyone in the ecosystem - we are truly making data fly!"

About Statkraft Ventures

Statkraft Ventures GmbH is a European venture capital firm working with exceptional entrepreneurs disrupting the energy sector. The company is exit-driven and backed by the Statkraft Group, Europe's largest producer of renewable energy. Statkraft Ventures invests on common venture capital terms. The company operates in an evergreen structure with EUR 10 million to invest each year. www.statkraftventures.com

About Greenbird

Greenbird is a Norwegian software and solutions company. Headquartered in Oslo and expanding globally, its employees are passionate about software in the energy industry. The company is an established leader for integration and data management solutions and has served utilities representing more than 80 % of the market in Norway. Greenbird's Metercloud.io, a state-of-the-art integration solution, supports the transformation towards digital utilities by enabling advanced smart metering. www.greenbird.com

About ETF Partners

ETF Partners supports talented entrepreneurs and management teams with investment capital and experience. Our funds come from institutional investors, global corporations and family offices. We create value by investing in technology companies that make a difference. We call it 'sustainability through innovation'.

Environmental Technologies Fund and Environmental Technologies Fund 2 L.P. are supported by the European Union through the 'Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme' (CIP). Sustainability through innovation - www.etfpartners.capital

 

Contact information:

Statkraft Ventures GmbH

Anne Joeken, Communications, Statkraft Markets GmbH

Tel. [phone] | Mob. [phone] | [e-mail]

Judith Tranninger, Communications, Statkraft Markets GmbH

Tel. [phone] | Mob. [phone] | [e-mail]

 

Greenbird Integration Technology AS

Thorsten Heller, CEO, [phone], [e-mail]

 

ETF Partners LLP

Ross Butler, [e-mail], [phone]

James Burnham, [e-mail], [phone] 

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Source: Statkraft AS via Globenewswire