Heatio Raises £2 Million to Rapidly Advance Smart Home Energy Management Deployment

Image Credit: Heatio

Liverpool-based clean-tech start-up Heatio has secured a £2m investment, marking a significant milestone in its mission to make clean energy more accessible and affordable. The funding round, led by Ascension with contributions from Conduit Connect, The Syndicate Room, Baltic Ventures, LYVA Labs, and deep tech investor Neil Norman, will enable Heatio to expand its team, launch the second version of its smart home energy platform, Heatio Flexx, and scale up customer onboarding.

Heatio Flexx, a smart home energy app, connects to the company's Virtual Power Plant, optimising and managing domestic renewable technologies such as solar panels, heat pumps, EV chargers, and batteries. Utilising AI and machine learning, Heatio provides tailored energy solutions based on property type and household energy usage, enhancing efficiency and reducing energy bills.

The investment will also support Heatio's delivery of two contracts within the government's Net Zero Portfolio. In collaboration with E.ON and Energy Systems Catapult, Heatio will pilot a renewable technology subscription service, Energy as a Service (EaaS), for 350 homes in the North West, eliminating upfront costs for consumers considering heat pumps, solar PV, or battery storage.

Additionally, Heatio is partnering with Perenna Bank and Energy Systems Catapult to launch a long-term fixed-rate green mortgage. This initiative will offer homeowners preferential interest rates for retrofitting their homes with low-carbon technologies, and energy savings will be tracked and optimised using the Heatio Flexx platform.

"Our ability to help homeowners access affordable energy via our Flexx platform and virtual power plant drives energy security and helps the UK get to a clean, green future," said chief executive Simon Roberts. "When we launched Heatio two years ago, our priority was to help more consumers access green technology and reduce the use of fossil fuels to decarbonise their homes.

"Through this investment, we are moving closer to making that a reality. We are looking forward to driving our expansion and working with industry leaders and would like to extend our appreciation to every investor for helping us get where we are today."

Jean de Fougerolles, managing partner at Ascension and new Heatio board member, expressed excitement about supporting the company's mission to reduce energy costs and democratise access to clean home technologies.

"With the typical annual household bill having increased by 49 per cent since pre-crisis levels, the scale of the problem is massive, and Heatio's innovative solution is uniquely positioned to address it through a partner-based business model that simultaneously helps the UK move towards a net zero goal," he said. "We look forward to helping the team achieve its vision."