innogy Innovation Hub, which is funded by innogy SE, a Germany energy company, to invest in and mentor technology start-ups, invested in 61 companies in 2018 through new and follow-on financing rounds, growing the value of its portfolio by more than 50 per cent.
Including co-investments and investments into other VC funds, the Innovation Hub has funded almost 90 start-ups.
At the same time, innogy Innovation Hub has continued to focus on supporting its portfolio, with a strategic focus on providing acceleration opportunities. In 2018, the Hub participated in 10 accelerator programmes globally, presenting opportunities for more than one-third of its portfolio companies to grow and scale.
innogy Innovation Hub takes a thesis-led approach, investing in the technologies and business models that have the potential to transform the future of energy, making direct investments from pre-seed through to series D funding rounds. A bold vision requires a bold approach and the Innovation Hub has created a unique environment to support the individual needs of their portfolio companies and build an entirely new energy sector. In addition to investment capital, it provides expert sector and management knowledge as well as access to networks helping to unlock innovation and accelerate growth.
Central to this approach is its ecosystem and collaborative model that sees it connect innovative start-ups, large corporates, accelerators and VCs to help facilitate innovation. By building alliances and creating networks to unlock innovation, the Innovation Hub has been able to deliver start-up success and create financial value. Since the fund vehicle’s incorporation, the Innovation Hub has created a portfolio valued at €162 million, producing top VC returns.
“We’re very proud of what we have built so far,” says Thomas Birr, SVP Innovation and Business Transformation innogy SE and CEO of innogy Innovation Hub. “Our hybrid approach combines traditional corporate VC with accelerator and angel investing, giving us unparalleled access to the most promising start-ups and presenting unique value and innovation creation opportunities. In a short space of time, we’ve built a team, culture and organisation that drives exponential growth rather than incremental change. We’re looking forward to developing this approach as we continue to invest in the companies that will help build the future of energy.”
