Estonian climate tech startup Gridio raised investment from Norwegian accelerator Katapult

Estonian climate tech Gridio, which offers a solution for automatically charging electric vehicles, raised investment from Oslo-based accelerator and VC Katapult. According to the accelerator, the average amount of investment allocated per startup was $230K.

Founded in Tallinn in 2018 by Konrad Hanschmidt and Sandor Liive, Gridio designed a platform for electric vehicles (EVs), that combines information about energy price, emissions, and energy storage, and also data about the vehicle and battery. The platform connects to the cloud APIs of EV chargers, solar inverters, and batteries for intelligent management of energy devices. Gridio uses a combination of encryption, multi-factor authentication, and data policies to guarantee that the client’s data will be safe.

The solution selects the best combination of hours to charge the car. According to the startup, the cheapest price to charge EVs is at night. It is also the best time to get the cleanest energy because more renewables can be integrated into the power grid.

Gridio has 28K registered users and 500K smart charging sessions. The application works in all European countries, including Norway and Switzerland.

Katapult Climate and Ocean Accelerator is focusing on early-stage climate tech startups. Recently, it selected 23 startups out of 2,5K and invested in them approximately €4-5M. Apart from the investment, the accelerator will provide startups with educational video modules and interactive workshops, and access to a network of mentors and potential investors. The Program Director is Marcus Hølland Eikeland.