ImpactAlpha, November 18 – U.S. and U.K.-based energy utility National Grid has backed clean and smart energy companies AutoGrid, ClimaCell, Leap, Omnidian and Sitetracker. It made the investment via a new Silicon Valley-based venture arm. The group, called National Grid Partners, plans to invest $250 million over the next two to three years.
“Historically, Silicon Valley has left energy investing behind. [National Grid Partners] is now one of the few firms focused on energy’s next renaissance and the wave of Cleantech 2.0.,” National Grid Partners’ Lisa Lambert said. “We want to disrupt ourselves before we are disrupted.”
The venture group’s first five investments include a “hyperlocal” weather forecasting company (ClimaCell), a distributed energy market (Leap), a solar protection plan provider (Omnidian), and two companies focusing on energy data and software.
