Startup attracts small businesses with energy discounts – 07/20/2023 – Panel SA

With financial support from mega investment funds and the giant Ambev, Lemon Energia, a climate tech (as energy startups are called), advances its subscription energy service with small businesses.

Since 2019, when it appeared on the market, it has managed to make half of its 10,000 business customers save, together, R$ 10 million on their electricity bills.

The system works like renting a piece of generator. The startup does not distribute or sell energy. It only bridges the gap between plants (solar, biogas or small hydroelectric) and small businesses that want to save on their electricity bills.

Through data technology, this commercial establishment is “seen” by the distribution network and the generators, which inject energy into the system corresponding to that customer’s consumption, generating credits that are deducted from the accounts.

Through closed agreements between solar energy generators and the local energy distributor, Lemon offers monthly discounts of at least 10% on the company’s invoice – which means failing to pay one or even two bills per year, according to the company.

The startup has clients in six Brazilian regions: SP, RJ, MG, MS, DF and GO.

After subscribing to the service, each end customer continues to pay the bill to the distributor, but only with fees and charges. And he starts to receive a new account, from Lemon, with the energy discount.

In 2022, the startup received an investment round of BRL 60 million, led by Kaszek, the main venture capital fund in Latin America, and with the participation of Lowercarbon, a fund dedicated to environmental impact startups. The company’s investors are also Canary funds, Big Bets, Capitale and Ambev.

With Diego Felix

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