Co-Power, the Munich-based company building decentralised energy infrastructure for Europe's industrial sector, raised €6.4 million to accelerate the deployment of its innovative large-scale battery storage and solar PV systems.
Europe's industrial sector is under pressure with electricity prices still more than double those in the US or China, threatening competitiveness and forcing companies to scale down production. While Europe's high share of renewable energy should mean lower prices, the lack of storage and the volatility of wind and solar are causing record price fluctuations and rising grid fees that drive up costs.
Co-Power is flipping this dynamic by enabling industrial customers to cut electricity costs by up to 50 per cent, unlocking flexibility through on-site battery storage and solar systems delivered via a zero-upfront cost, hassle-free service model. This model transforms factories into autonomous energy hubs: reducing grid fees, optimising solar consumption, and enabling smart energy trading.
I spoke to the founders of Co-Power, Kilian Zedelius and Jan Krueger, to learn more.
Rooted in industry and sustainability
Co-Power's mission is to provide local electricity generation and storage to strengthen resilience and restore cost leadership to European industry.
According to Jan Krueger, founder of Co-Power, his father spent over 30 years in the German automotive industry. My sister, a biologist, has always been deeply committed to protecting the planet.
"I grew up between those two worlds — industry and sustainability — and that contrast shaped how I see the future. Early on, I noticed how the energy transition in Germany was often framed as a moral or environmental issue.
Rarely did anyone talk about competitiveness, cost, or sovereignty. That felt like a missed opportunity.
When I later worked with industrial companies and energy providers at McKinsey, it became clear: energy isn't just a climate topic. It's a lever for economic strength and independence. Europe has the chance to lead — but only if we act decisively.
We lost leadership in solar before. We can't afford to do the same in storage, electrification, or grid innovation. Co-Power is our bet that Europe can do better. That we can turn energy from a cost into a strategic advantage."
As a McKinsey Partner, Zedelius worked with leading industrial companies across Europe. He recalled:
"Early in my career, those projects were about growth — entering new markets, launching new products, building the future. But by the end, the tone had shifted. More and more, the work was about defence — cutting costs, protecting margins, trying not to fall behind.
That shift hit me personally. The version of German industry I was raised with was confident, outward-looking. But somewhere along the way, we started playing not to lose instead of playing to win."
He contends that Co-Power was born out of a desire to reverse that trend.
"We want to help industrial companies get back on offense — by cutting energy costs and complexity, so they can reinvest in growth, innovation, and
competitiveness. Because if Europe wants to lead again, we need our industrial backbone to believe in the future — not just manage decline."
"Renewables offer abundant, low-cost electricity – but only if we solve the flexibility challenge," said Krüger, Co-Power Co-Founder.
"That means putting storage and generation where it matters most: directly on-site with the industrial companies that power Europe."
It's bigger than just installing hardware, Co-Power is building an industrial Virtual Power Plant (VPP) – a network of decentralised clean energy systems – to strengthen resilience and enable companies to turn energy from a cost factor into a long-term strategic advantage.
Its software layer will ensure that energy is optimised, priced, and traded intelligently, bringing 24/7 availability to inherently intermittent solar and wind.
How Co-Power Is carving out a unique VPP niche
I was curious how Co-Power stands up in the competitive VPP space.
Krueger was actually the first investor in Entrix, helped recruit the founding team, and supported the company as a board member for over three years.
He shared:
"We see them more as a partner than a competitor. They do excellent work in optimising battery dispatch, and we will collaborate closely as our asset base grows."
That said, Co-Power's focus is fundamentally different. While Enpal, 1Komma5, and others have started expanding into the commercial and industrial (C&I) space as an add-on to their core business, the company's model is 100 per cent B2B from day one. Selling to industrial customers requires a very different approach: it's more complex, longer-cycle, and trust-driven.
Krueger asserts:
"Most importantly, we're flexibility-first. We believe the real value for industrial firms lies in using batteries to align solar generation with factory demand—flattening peaks, shifting loads, and turning energy from a pain point into a performance lever.
In short, we're not just decarbonising— we're optimising for cost, resilience, and control. Industrial companies are famously conservative. What's driving them to adopt this kind of energy tech now—and what barriers still remain?"
Kruger believes that two forces are colliding. First, cost pressure is rising and energy is now one of the top cost drivers for many industrial firms. Second, complexity has exploded. Volatile prices, changing regulation, and hidden cost levers like grid fee reductions have created a landscape that many manufacturers aren't equipped to navigate.
"We see this every day: Customers often don't know they could significantly reduce costs just by optimising grid usage. But they do know one thing—energy has become a strategic issue. That's where Co-Power comes in.
Co-Power's "Energy-as-a-Service" model handles the complexity, carries the tech investment risk, and delivers measurable savings.
"That's why we're seeing such strong traction: our customers trust us to simplify a chaotic system and give them back control.
And beyond the economics, there's pride. These companies like being part of the solution. They're excited to say, "We're helping to stabilise the grid. We're building the energy system of the future."
Strong investor backing for a resilient future
Cherry Ventures led the round, with participation from German energy- and impact-focused family offices Abacon Capital and Aurum Impact, as well as the founders of Flixbus, former Encavis CEO and TotalEnergies board member Dierk Paskert, DZ4 founder Tobias Schütt, and Constantin Eis, former CEO of LichtBlick and current CEO of CMBlue.
"Co-Power is bringing a much-needed solution to the European industrial sector at a critical time," said Filip Dames, Founding Partner at Cherry Ventures.
"By combining decentralised generation, battery storage, and a smart operational model, they are providing a powerful way for companies to reduce costs and improve energy resilience while managing price volatility. We are proud to support Jan, Kilian, and the Co-Power team in scaling their impact."
With initial projects underway and a growing pipeline of industrial customers, Co-Power is well-positioned to help European companies navigate the energy transition and secure a more stable and sustainable future.
“We need our industrial backbone to believe in the future”
In the last few months, there's been a renewed sense of momentum in Europe. A recognition that we need to build, that we need to lead. Besides AI and defense, Co-Power believes that energy must be one of the core pillars.
Zedelius shared that if we want prosperity, we need the lowest electricity prices in the world, and Europe can achieve that through renewables, flexibility, and a smart, distributed infrastructure.
"This isn't about climate, it's about competitiveness and sovereignty. We believe Europe can lead.
That's why we're building Co-Power. We love Europe.
And despite the bureaucracy and red tape, it's a great place to live and build. That's also why we chose Cherry Ventures as our lead.
They share our belief that Europe can produce the next generation of trillion-dollar companies. We're also backed by family investors who understand the industrial fabric of this continent.
Europe has something the US and China don't: a long-term mindset rooted in real industry, and a culture of building across generations. We want to combine that with the best tech talent to build something that lasts."
The funding will accelerate the roll-out of Co-Power's energy systems and support the launch of its industrial VPP.
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