Why we invested in FlexiDAO: The catch to 100% carbon-free energy

“No providers were solving this. Until we met FlexiDAO”

Tag and release is a form of fishing, in which the angler attaches a tag to a fish and records the date, time, place and type on a card and submits this to a fisheries agency or conservation organisation. Those agencies can then use this data to track and protect fish stocks from overharvesting and mounting ecological pressure. Tag and release is a great system to protect fish and with a slight adjustment, it could be the method to move us towards a 100% carbon-free energy system, 24 hours per day.

So how does that work exactly? Today, corporate procurement of renewable energy is typically done on an annual basis. Corporates quantify their total energy consumption and match it with annual renewable energy certificates (RECs) that can be acquired from other countries at low cost. This means that on an aggregate level, their energy consumption can be claimed to be 100% renewable. However, often a significant share of the energy corporates consume is during times where the grid is predominantly powered by fossil fuel energy sources due to the wind not blowing and the sun not shining.?

Therefore, the above claims are increasingly being considered “greenwashing”. A growing number of organisations are realising that the journey towards “100% renewable” requires matching their hourly consumption of electricity with production of renewable energy on an hourly basis. To do this, hourly “tags” that record the date, time, place and type of renewable energy are needed. However, no providers were solving for this. Until we met FlexiDAO.

Using an energy-efficient blockchain, FlexiDAO can match energy consumption with renewable energy production and then create the digital tags to prove it. Think of them as the fishermen that tag fish to protect our biodiversity, only FlexiDAO are protecting us from mistakenly powering our “green grid” with fossil fuels. Their technology can be rapidly implemented without affecting the consumer’s operations. FlexiDAO specifically productised this technology to be intuitive and customer friendly. Meaning it does not take advanced training or knowledge of blockchain to utilise it.

With FlexiDAO’s software, corporate customers obtain granular insight into this matching process. This data in turn influences the procurement of renewable energy to better match with demand. On top of that, FlexiDAO can certify hourly certificates (or “tags”), which can ultimately be traded, just like annual RECs are today. Meaning, organisations can then purchase certificates to offset their emissions, safe in the knowledge that they came entirely from carbon-free sources. Providing unprecedented trust that you can be 100% powered by carbon-free energy 100% of the time.

Global RE100 companies and large data centre operators such as Google, Microsoft, Vodafone and Iron Mountain are the first movers in this space and all are customers of FlexiDAO. Like SET Ventures, they recognise that FlexiDAO is highly exceptional in building the technology to achieve this. ?Most importantly, FlexiDAO is led by a stellar team of renowned experts in their domain. CEO Simone Accornero and CTO Grzegorz Bytniewski have been developing this technology since 2017. Together with strategic CGO Joan Collell and seasoned CFO Marijn de Jong, the team is driving the 24/7 carbon-free energy movement globally. By collaborating with policymakers, grid operators, large energy consumers and NGOs such as EnergyTag they are creating the environment to enable a true 24/7 CFE system.

SET Ventures is therefore proud to have partnered with FlexiDAO since 2019 and to have led the Series A investment along with existing customers Google and Microsoft. Their commitment to invest provides a ringing endorsement of FlexiDAO as the frontrunner in 24/7 CFE technology. Soon, organisations making 100% renewable energy claims must all collect tags and share these, just like our tag and release fishermen. We believe FlexiDAO holds the key part of the puzzle to achieve this and therefore plays a pivotal role in transforming our energy system to one that is truly 100% carbon-free.

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This article was written by SET Partner, Julia Padberg and Associate, Ellen Smeele .

Since 2007 Amsterdam-based SET Ventures has invested in digital technology for a carbon-free energy system by backing pioneering founders with capital, community, and insights. SET Ventures invests in companies with sustainable solutions and a strong digital DNA leading the systemic change of how energy is generated, distributed, stored, and consumed in sectors such as distributed infrastructure, energy retail, buildings, mobility, and industry as well as enabling technologies.