[Funding alert] Helsinki-based Startup Cactos Raises €26M in Funding

Lead investors in the round are OP Finland Infrastructure LP and the Finnish Climate Fund. Cactos Fleet Finland LP aims to raise a total of €70M in capital, consisting of €35M in equity and €35M in debt.

Read also - British Biotech FA Bio Raises €6.1 Million in Funding

The company intends to invest all of its capital into smart energy storage units in an investment period of approximately two and a half years and with an expected operational period of approximately ten years.

Cactos founder and CEO Oskari Jaakkola said, “We established Cactos Fleet Finland LP because the energy transition requires significant investment in infrastructure, especially in assets capable of participating in demand response and grid services. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are an excellent way to create more flexibility in consumption, as well as balance the grid as a whole. But smart energy storage units can do much more – that’s why Cactos Fleet Finland LP provides best-in-class behind-the-meter smart energy storage systems on a lease basis to clients who can utilize them to optimise local consumption and production, ensure resilience of electricity supply as well as to participate in grid level operations, such a frequency balancing,”.

The company’s smart energy storage systems are installed in premises where they offer clients a hedge against price volatility, level out local demand peaks, offer backup power, and optimize the use of the property’s own electricity production, where applicable.

Read also - Dutch AI Startup Whispp Secures €750k in Seed Funding

Together, all units owned by Cactos Fleet Finland LP are aggregated through Cactos proprietary software platform, Cactos Spine, to create a large virtual battery that supports the stability of the transmission system.

Jaakkola said, “Large housing, real estate, and logistics companies need solutions to tackle, for example, large energy consumption peaks caused by simultaneous charging of multiple electric vehicles and to protect themselves from electricity market volatility. An energy storage unit together with our cloud computing service, Cactos Spine, automatically optimizes these functions,”.

The current financing round enables the large-scale deployment of smart energy storage systems. In December 2023, the company owned approximately 50 Cactos One battery energy storage units, and thanks to the latest financing, its portfolio will grow to more than one thousand units in the coming years.'

Read also - Lyon-based ENYO Pharma Secures a €39 Million in Series C Round Funding

Tuomo Urrila from OP Finland Infrastructure LP said, "The growth in weather-dependent electricity generation has also increased the volatility of the electricity markets and the need for energy storage. We are happy to be able to work together with Cactos to offer solutions that benefit the customers and simultaneously improve the stability of the entire electricity grid,".

Toni Mikkonen, interim CEO of the Finnish Climate Fund said, "The green transition requires the electrification of all sectors of society. As domestic electricity demand and highly weather-dependent renewable energy production increase, local infrastructure supporting clean electricity production will be a critical factor for the success of the future energy system. What's interesting about Cactos' investment company is that the energy storage systems are offered to the customers with a service model and can therefore be put into use quickly,”.

The company’s customer base includes the logistics company Logitri Oy, Ahola Group Oy, Heka Oy, and Keskusosuuskunta Oulun Seudun Sähkö. In particular, large logistics companies and vehicle charging stations are interested in smart energy storage systems, as the electrification of transportation requires investments in charging infrastructure.

Read also - Dutch Online Grocery Store Picnic Secures €355 Million in Funding

About Cactos

Cactos, Everything started back in 2018. Deep in Northern Ontario, a crew of enthusiastic energy and software specialists had an idea. NGSESS, or New Generation Smart Energy Storage System, was the name given to it. hardly surprisingly, the name was hardly memorable.

Read also - Amsterdam-based Firsty Secures €1.1 Million in Pre-Seed Growth Funding