Startup relies on networking
“In five years, no more money will be made with electricity production”
01/27/2023 5:33 p.m
Philipp Schröder from the energy start-up “1Komma5 Grad” is certain: in the future it will no longer matter whether there is electricity, but how it is best distributed. This is exactly what the former Germany boss of Tesla wants to do with his company.
It is one of the fastest growing German startups: “1Komma5 Grad”, a company of the former Germany boss of Tesla, Philipp Schröder. The idea, with which sales of 260 million euros were already achieved in 2022: Anyone who wants to make their home independent of oil and gas buys a complete package – including photovoltaics, heat pumps, electricity storage and charging stations for electric cars. Above all, however, the households are to be networked via software. “We have to control power consumption better,” says Schröder in the podcast “The Zero Hour”.
The entrepreneur is convinced that in the future it will not be a question of whether electricity is available, but how it is best distributed. “In Europe, in five years, no more money will be made from electricity production,” says Schröder. “Money is made with flexibility. If you are able to control demand.” The basic idea: Since more and more electricity is coming from renewable energies such as wind or solar power, the supply is falling more and more often in phases when demand is low – and vice versa. The company wants to overcome this gap with software and intelligent networking. As a financier, the former Tesla man has won, among other things, the investment arm of Porsche.
One problem remains: Like many other companies, “1Komma5 Grad” suffers from a shortage of skilled workers; Heat pumps, photovoltaics and storage must also be installed. Schröder is trying to counteract this by buying up handicraft businesses and including them in his range – a rocky road. “The companies understand that they cannot achieve growth on their own,” says Schröder. “Heat pumps and the solar sector have not been a mass market in the last five years.”
Listen in the new episode of “Zero Hour”
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- How often the price of electricity in Germany is negative
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