Ellevio acquires part of fast-growing energy start-up

The energy company Ellevio further develops and diversifies its business by acquiring 10 percent of the technology company Flower (formerly known as Krafthem). The fast-growing start-up helps to ensure stability and balance in the energy system through flexibility and support services – a kind of virtual power plant. Such solutions are becoming increasingly important as the Swedish and European electricity system is supplied by more and more wind and solar energy.

In the next 10–15 years, almost all new electricity generation capacity will come from weather-dependent power sources such as wind and solar. This places new demands on the electricity system to deal with rapid and sharp variations in electricity generation and an uneven inflow of electricity. The energy company Flower's business concept is to balance the energy system with the help of batteries when production and demand for energy become unbalanced. By accumulating many scattered energy resources – everything from individual electric cars to large-scale batteries – Flower can provide additional electricity when needed. The concept won Flower a gold medal in last year's innovation competition Startup 4 Climate.

- With Flower’s technology, we can more easily maintain the sensitive frequency in electricity networks – even when wind turbines produce less, explains Kristofer Fröjd, Head of Business Development and Strategy at Ellevio.

Explosive market development

In the coming years, electricity consumption in Sweden and Europe is expected to increase dramatically. Electricity is replacing fossil fuels in transportation and industries and drives an ever more technology-oriented society. In Sweden alone, we are estimated to consume more than twice as much electricity within 25 years compared with today, from 140 TWh today to around 310 TWh by 2045.

And as the electricity that will be supplied to the electricity system varies, the market for flexibility and support services that Flower serves will see explosive development. According to the European Commission and the European Association for Storage for Energy (Ease), the European energy market will need up to 108 GW of battery or energy storage services by 2050, which will require a total investment of SEK 1,000–3,000 billion.

Ellevio is investing in a new business area

The deal means that Ellevio Energy Solutions AB, a subsidiary within the Ellevio Group, acquires 10 percent of Flower Infrastructure Technologies AB. Ellevio will also be represented on the Board of Flower.

- Through our investments in energy solutions, we want to take strategic steps towards offering non-regulated, competitive services. Our ambition is to grow strongly in the coming years with more investments and newly developed customer offerings, says Johan Lindehag, CEO of Ellevio.

Ellevio's new business area, Ellevio Energy Solutions, will focus on providing comprehensive support to companies and businesses that want to switch to an electrified, fossil-free business. With the help of capabilities that extend beyond just electricity network services, Ellevio will offer complete solutions within industry networks, energy storage, flexibility and charging solutions.

About Ellevio

With close to one million customers, Ellevio is one of Sweden's largest electricity network companies. We take an active role in the journey towards a fossil-free society. Our electricity networks are the backbone that connects producers and consumers of electricity, which enables more renewable electricity production, the electrification of transport and industry, and which creates conditions for new climate-smart services for our customers. We have almost 600 employees and employ a total of 3,000 people around the country. We are owned by the pension managers OMERS Infrastructure, the Third Swedish national pension fund, Folksam, and the First Swedish national pension fund.

Ellevio Energy Solutions is a sister company to Ellevio AB.