Meta just committed $10 billion to a new AI data center campus in Louisiana and is evaluating nuclear projects across multiple states. When you can literally build your own power plants, energy becomes a competitive advantage rather than a cost center.

Meanwhile, European companies face high energy costs, grid instability, and limited control over their power supply.

Germany has some of the world's highest electricity prices. When the sun shines and the wind blows, prices can go negative. When conditions are poor, businesses face massive spikes and potential supply disruptions. This extends beyond an operational problem, into an existential threat to European tech ambitions.

That's where Co-Power comes in. We are leading their €6.4 million seed round alongside German energy-focused family offices Abacon Capital and Aurum Impact, plus energy veterans.

The Munich startup installs solar panels and massive battery systems at company locations for free, then shares the savings when energy costs drop by up to 50%. Those same batteries trade electricity during peak demand, turning every customer into a profit-generating power plant.

But Co-Power's real ambition goes far beyond individual installations. They're building Europe's leading industrial virtual power plant (VPP) - a network of interconnected energy systems where companies can share surplus energy and flexibility to achieve the lowest possible prices.

In other words, Co-Power transforms Germany's wild renewable energy swings from Europe's biggest infrastructure challenge into its most profitable opportunity.

To build trillion dollar companies, Europe needs reliable power for their operations.

Why Co-Power's Model Works

Co-Power addresses this through what they call "Energy as a Service." They install solar panels and sophisticated battery storage systems at business locations, handling all financing, installation, and maintenance. Companies get immediate energy cost reductions without capital investment.

The magic happens through multiple value streams. Local solar generation provides cheap, clean electricity. Battery storage optimises consumption by storing excess solar power, reducing peak load charges, and timing energy purchases when prices are low. Perhaps most importantly, these batteries participate in electricity trading and grid stabilisation markets, generating additional revenue that Co-Power shares with customers.

This creates a virtuous cycle.

• → Businesses get cheaper, more reliable energy
• → Grid stability enables more renewable energy
• →→ More renewables create greater price volatility
• →→→ Volatility increases the value of battery storage
• →→→→ More battery storage makes the entire system more resilient
• →→→→→ Which attracts more businesses to the model.

Early traction validates the approach. Co-Power already has projects underway across industries from food manufacturing to logistics and heavy machinery, with a growing pipeline of industrial customers.

The Team That Can Execute

Energy infrastructure isn't a typical venture play, which is exactly why the founding team matters so much. Co-Power combines deep customer relationships with sophisticated financing capabilities.

Jan Krüger's background in energy financing and project development, combined with Kilian Zedelius's extensive experience from McKinsey's energy practice, creates the perfect combination for this complex market.

Most importantly, they understand both the technical complexities and the business model innovations required to make distributed energy profitable. With family ties to companies like BMW and Allianz, both grew up witnessing German industry's strength firsthand and understand how vulnerable even industrial giants can be to energy shocks.

For Cherry, Co-Power reflects our belief that Europe needs to think differently about infrastructure investments.

Traditional venture models focus on software and services that can scale without physical constraints. But if Europe wants to compete in AI, quantum computing, and other energy-intensive technologies, we need the infrastructure to support them.

Co-Power hits the market at exactly the right moment. German policy favors distributed renewable storage, battery costs are plummeting while electricity prices stay high, and businesses desperately want energy security and sustainability.

The European Opportunity

The commercial and industrial sector represents 40% of final energy consumption in the EU. The market for behind-the-meter and front-of-the-meter battery storage could reach €250 billion by 2030 in Germany alone.

But the real opportunity extends across Europe. Energy markets are interconnected, and solutions that work in Germany can expand throughout the continent. Co-Power's model could become the foundation for a truly European energy infrastructure company.

This matters because energy independence now determines competitiveness. Regions with reliable, affordable power attract the data centers and research facilities that drive growth. If Co-Power succeeds, they'll build the energy backbone Europe needs to compete in AI and advanced manufacturing.

The energy transition is happening with or without us. The question is whether Europe leads or watches from the sidelines. Co-Power gives businesses the tools to turn renewable volatility from a burden into an advantage.