Axle Energy has closed £19 million in a Series A round led by Energize Capital to scale its virtual power plant (VPP) software platform. Existing backers Accel, Picus Capital and Eka Ventures will also be returning to participate. Funds will be used to grow its partner network and reach further into an estimated pool of 75 million eligible energy assets across Europe and the US.
Their platform gives EV chargers, home batteries and heat pumps a route into electricity markets through a single API, so device makers, utilities and fleet operators can pull a home's flexible demand into their own products rather than building the market connection themselves. Devices enrolled this way shift their charging or heating around grid conditions in the background, which lets households earn payment for that flexibility while a car still charges and a home still stays warm on schedule. Utilities, OEMs and fleet operators use the aggregated capacity to smooth out supply and demand peaks, cutting the need for fossil-fuel plants to cover short-term gaps. Axle's own figures put more than 300,000 devices on the platform today, adding up to over 2GW of shiftable load.
Co-founded by Karl Bach, a former Bulb executive and data scientist Archy de Berker, this round builds on Axle's earlier £6.7m seed round led by Accel in August 2024, and a £1.3m pre-seed round in 2023.
AI and electrification are increasing electricity demand at a pace that power systems were not designed for. Virtual power plants unlock capacity from infrastructure that already exists, bringing flexible capacity online in weeks rather than years.
As AI, electrification and renewable energy accelerate, power systems are becoming more dynamic and more complex. We believe flexibility will become one of the most important layers of the modern energy stack. Karl, Archy, and the Axle team have built an impressive platform that helps energy companies unlock and monetise flexibility from assets that already exist. With more than 300,000 connected devices and over 2GW of capacity already under management, they have established themselves as one of the leaders in this category, and we're excited to continue supporting their growth.
