Energy platform tem. secures £10.5m to make renewable power affordable and accessible for UK businesses

Climate Tech

Posted
September 11 2024

tem., the AI transactions platform that enables UK businesses to buy energy directly from renewable generators for less than the cost of traditional fossil fuels, has secured an £10.5m Series A round, accelerating its mission to reshape the UK’s energy landscape. This investment, led by European VC Atomico, with participation from existing investors including us at AlbionVC and Revent, and joined by notable angels Holly and Sam Branson and Wise CTO Harsh Sinha and CPO Nilan Peiris, brings tem.’s total funding to £13m and positions the company at the forefront of the UK’s urgent transition to sustainable energy.

tem.’s growth comes as the global economy scrambles to meet 2050 climate targets. Skyrocketing oil and gas prices have crystallised the business need to find alternatives to fossil fuels. With UK businesses facing electricity price hikes of 63% and gas price increases of 124% between Q3 2021 and Q3 2022, the need for affordable, stable energy sources has never been more pressing.

tem.’s proprietary algorithm is revolutionising the energy market by directly matching businesses with renewable energy generators in real-time. tem.’s AI engine forecasts fluctuations within energy supply and demand, processing 1.8 billion matches every second. This innovative approach not only bypasses the inefficient wholesale market but also promises to save businesses up to 25% on their energy bills while providing 100% traceable, renewable energy.

“Small and medium-sized businesses are critical in tackling climate change, and are desperate for energy they can trust after seeing their bills soar by 124% during the recent energy crisis.  We built tem. so that any UK business can get affordable energy while powering the clean energy transition from their doorstep”  said Joe McDonald, tem. CEO and co-founder.

Among tem.’s customers is iconic British racing track Silverstone. Stephane Bazire, Head of Business Sustainability at Silverstone said, “working with tem, we are now paying less for fully traceable renewable energy, while putting more money back into the pockets of generators, hugely helping our business reduce its carbon footprint – which is a high priority for our company.”

The investment comes as the UK rapidly expands its renewable energy capacity, with renewables in 2023 constituting around 40% of the electricity mix, up from approximately 11% in 2014, and only 2.8% at the turn of the millennium. In Q1 2024, renewables reached 50.9% of total generation.

tem.’s platform is uniquely primed for this growth, connecting businesses directly with the burgeoning network of over 22,000 small, medium, and large renewable generators across the country. This newly decentralised supply is being created from everything from large-scale wind farms to family-owned solar parks and local weirs generating hydropower.

But to date only megacorporations – able to negotiate complex Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) directly with these generators – have been in a position to truly benefit. 99% of UK businesses have no option but to purchase energy from the wholesale market, the same way of procuring energy since the 80’s. This is an opaque, inefficient and volatile market, where middlemen capture £1.65bn each year in transaction fees at the expense of the end customer, and businesses lack meaningful transparency or control over their energy mix.

Adam Chirkowski, Partner AlbionVC said: “As early investors in tem. we continue to be extremely impressed with team’s pace of execution, domain expertise and vision to democratise access to renewable energy for all businesses, regardless of size. We are thrilled to continue supporting the company, alongside new investors Atomico, as they continue their journey to revolutionise the energy markets.“

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