Czech startup Delta Green, which has developed a platform that allows households to participate in energy markets and help manage grid volatility, is piloting its solution locally in a partnership with Premier Energy and three other suppliers. Jan Hicl, co-founder of Delta Green, told Romania Insider more about the company’s plans for the coming period.

Delta Green started as an energy supplier. The founders of the company had all been involved in the startup ecosystem, where they had previously built and exited a startup focused on assessing vehicle damage from photographs for the insurance industry, InstaCover. After acquiring a small part of Czech Nano Energies that served household customers, they began transforming the business, which eventually separated from Nano Energies. The business was initially called Nano Green, but after the split, it was rebranded as Delta Green. 

Having seen the challenges brought on by volatility and fluctuations in renewable energy production, and that maintaining stable and affordable prices for end customers became increasingly difficult, they started developing a platform that can analyze household energy data to aid in managing grid volatility, Jan Hicl explains.

“We are trying to connect to the breath of nature. When nature is producing, we are trying to consume,” he says. “When we see that the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, then we start consumption in the households; this changes the times when the household consumes energy, and it's more related to when the renewables are producing energy.”

Delta Green’s platform connects and manages existing household assets, such as PVs and EVs, and gathers them into a virtual power battery. A very small piece of hardware is required to establish the connection to the platform Households that want to participate in the system also need to have smart meters, which measure consumption every 15 minutes. “We are trying to make sure that we are consuming whatever they are producing in the best possible way. When the sun is shining, then we turn on something, especially like EV charging, water heating, battery charging […].”

The energy balancing market had previously been accessible only to major players operating large power plants. However, European Union regulations have opened the market to aggregators such as Delta Green as well. “If we can connect around 300 households in one block, we can bring them to the market to help balance the grid.”

How the company plans to grow in Romania

The company is currently deploying its solution in Italy, Austria, Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, and the Netherlands, following a EUR 2.2 million investment in 2024 backed by Tilia Impact Ventures as the lead, along with Credo Ventures and Purple Ventures. “We are trying to expand as much as we can,” the co-founder says.

As Romania adds more renewable energy and decentralized assets, the grid will need more flexible capacity not only from large industrial players, but also from households, the company argues. At the same time, the imbalance market here was an attractive one to tap into, he explains.

According to the co-founder, the company can bring EUR 20 - EUR 30 to households on a monthly basis. The earned sum is calculated by taking into account the penalties levied on the supplier's imbalance, that is the energy purchased but not consumed. During the onboarding period, customers can set their preferences, including the desired battery that they want to give to the platform. This will influence the rewards they receive. “If you leave us only with 10% of the battery, of course, the rewards will be smaller. If you give us 80% of your battery, then you get more money.”

In order to access a market, the company partners with a local retailer or supplier. “The best market to start is the imbalance market, optimizing their [e.n companies’] portfolio so they don't have the imbalances; that's the first step, then going to the TSO [e.n. transmission system operator].” In the Czech Republic, Delta Green is working with the local TSO. Since TSOs manage critical infrastructure, the project needs to be thoroughly prepared, including on the customers’ side.

In Romania, the company started with Premier Energy, but it is also working with three other suppliers at the moment. “We always start with a small pile-up with around 50 customers. That's what we've done with Premier Energy. […] With the three others, we are in the middle of the pilot for the 50 customers. We are piloting the platform and also onboarding these companies to the new business model,” he explains.

By the end of the year, the company would like to reach 10,000 customers on the platform locally. “Next year, comparing it to other countries, I believe that it is doable to have 50,000 to 100,000 customers. [...] In Romania, there are around 250,000 photovoltaic systems, so we would like to connect, let's say, half of them, and there are 50,000 EVs, that's something we are targeting as well.”

In addition to PVs and EVs, in the Czech Republic, additional assets can connect to the Delta Green platform. “We have water heaters and heat pumps, but only local ones. That's something we want to address in the future: heat pumps and air conditioning.”

In the two years since it started piloting its solution, the startup has started gathering feedback from customers, which can range in profile from very involved ones, who spend hours every day on the platform tracking activity, to those worried about allowing external control over devices in their homes. Many customers wanted the ability to set clear preferences, such as how much battery power to reserve for emergencies. The platform has implemented a set of transparency-related parameters that let them know when the activation happens and for how long, how many kilowatts are consumed and produced, and how much they get paid for it, Hicl explains. The company also has a base of around 10,000 customers involved in testing various functionalities, which ensures smoother pilot phases along the way.

The company counts as indirect competition the large batteries that can help stabilize the market as well. “At midday, there is an excess of solar energy; they can store it and release it during the night. There are a lot of batteries being built, especially in this part of the region.” Some suppliers are also building platforms of their own, while in Western Europe, there are companies that have developed similar platforms. “The difference between them and us is that we have our own portfolio and we know exactly the issues […] We can connect PVs and EVs and only some brands, not all of the brands, but we definitely know how to understand the customer and how to understand the retailer as well.”

The company is constantly adding new brands and new models as it looks to further expand its reach in Europe and beyond. “We feel there is going to be potential for the technology not only in Europe but also in other regions as well because it is starting there as well, as they are getting to the level of renewables that Europe is.”

(Photo: the company)

simona@romania-insider.com