Ostrom, a German digital green energy provider, has raised €20 million (US$21.5 million) in a series B funding round.

The funds will support the company’s nationwide rollout and the expansion of its NeoGrid Virtual Power Plant, as well as subsidizing smart meters for customers.

The funding round was led by Eneco Ventures, the venture capital arm of Dutch energy firm Eneco.

Existing investors SE Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Adjacent, Übermorgen, and J12 also participated, bringing Ostrom’s total funding to over €40 million (US$43 million).

The new capital will be used to increase smart meter adoption and automate customer operations using AI. Ostrom also aims to enhance its technology capabilities to support growth in Germany’s energy market.

Founded in 2021, Ostrom provides digital energy services that include flat monthly fees, electricity-at-cost pricing, and smart meter-enabled hourly dynamic pricing.

🔗 Source: EU-Startups

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Virtual power plants are becoming the new battleground in energy innovation

Ostrom’s focus on expanding its NeoGrid Virtual Power Plant (VPP) is part of a rapidly growing sector in renewable energy.

VPPs are projected to expand by 160 gigawatts in the US alone by 2030, potentially saving $10 billion annually in grid costs according to Department of Energy projections 1.

The global market for these aggregation platforms is growing significantly, expected to rise from $1.3 billion in 2019 to $5.9 billion by 2027, reflecting substantial investment interest and market confidence 2.

Ostrom’s launch of Germany’s largest electric vehicle VPP represents a key trend in the industry, as vehicle-to-grid technology increasingly enables EVs to contribute to grid stability rather than just consuming electricity 1.

This technology allows companies like Ostrom to transform thousands of distributed energy resources into coordinated systems that can balance grid demands and optimize renewable energy usage more efficiently than traditional power plants.

2️⃣ Smart meter subsidies address a critical barrier to energy market modernization

Ostrom’s decision to subsidize smart meters directly targets one of the main obstacles to scaling dynamic pricing models and demand-side flexibility.