Allgemein

Allgemein

KEO and Equivia Partners agree on close cooperation

Experienced financial investor commits to KEO, the provider for standardized connectivity of devices in the context of energy

 

With an investment in the single-digit million Euro range, the Cologne-based investor Equivia Partners joins the market leader for EEBUS-based connectivity. KEO Software connects energy-relevant devices – such as charging stations for electric cars and heat pumps – with energy management systems and the smart grid using a broadly-accepted standard. Compliance with grid requirements, smart energy management and tariff-optimized operation of buildings are made possible. This prevents overloads of the power grid  and enables the use of devices in new energy related business models.

In addition to the investment Equivia brings their partner group with experienced entrepreneurs and investors from the IT arena as advisors and supporters to the table.

“With Equivia we have found the ideal partner to continue to grow nationally and internationally with our company and our great team. A financially strong investor with entrepreneurial roots gives us exactly the backing and drive we have been looking for” says Marc Eulen, Managing Partner at KEO.

Thomas Strohe, Partner at Equivia, added: “Our investment in KEO brings the company another big step towards professional market expansion and growth.”

“KEO sits at the intersection of the three strong trends energy transition, artificial intelligence and data sovereignty. Together with the KEO team, we can leverage this potential in an entrepreneurial way,” says Dr. Andreas Palm, Partner at Equivia, looking forward to the collaboration.

KEO started with a sustainable background in the development of hardware and software for international mass market devices. Today, all KEO solutions are based on software and the global communication standard for energy in the Internet of Things: EEBUS.

EEBUS enables manufacturer-independent and interoperable connectivity for use cases in which devices require or produce a lot of electricity: The (power) grid integration of e-mobility, the electrical heat transition and the smart use of renewable energies are the main focus.

With its universal connectivity solutions and test and development tools, KEO serves a broad and very successful customer portfolio: International industry leaders and innovation drivers from the e-mobility, building automation, heating and solar industries, as well as the world of power grids rely on KEO solutions to integrate into energy networks.

Equivia Partners is an association of successful entrepreneurs and investors with over 20 years of successful history. The common passion to make companies successful and to share experience and knowledge is at the core of the investments from the areas of technology and growth companies. The partnership provides their portfolio companies access to bundled know-how, operational manpower and financially strong investors.

 

Author: Marc Eulen

Allgemein

KEO achieves climate neutrality!

With the successful participation in the Ökoprofit NRW Programm from 2019-2021, the joining of the Leaders for Climate Action (LFCA) initiative and finally through the cooperation with the climate partner  FORLIANCE, we have achieved climate neutrality with our company this year. One year earlier than originally planned!

With Ökoprofit, we first determined our operational emissions and resource footprint. In the next step, and in cooperation with an environmental consultant as well as input from expert workshops of the City of Cologne, we developed measures to reduce our everyday use of resources. Then, more environmentally friendly alternatives to previous processes and products were identified and – where possible – switched to them. Finally, with what we have learned, we can constantly control and reduce the use and consumption of resources and thus save emissions and money (!).

In the LFCA initiative, we have once again determined our full CO2 footprint (based on the past two years), received inspiration for further environmentally friendly measures in the company and joined the diverse network of equally innovative and ecologically responsible entrepreneurs. The platform allows us a constant exchange with like-minded people and a breeding ground for new ideas to make everyday life in the company even more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

With the help of these environmental programmes and initiatives, we have managed to reduce our ecological footprint as much as possible. To compensate for the unavoidable remaining emissions, we have extensively searched for a suitable partner. Transparency, traceability, and the reliability that our money really flows into the designated projects and that actual compensation takes place, is very important to us. With FORLIANCE (formerly Forest Finest Consulting and CO2OL), we have found a competent and authentic partner. We are currently involved in a renaturation project of two peatland regions in Germany (Schleswig-Holstein and Brandenburg) and an internationally recognised peatland forest project in Indonesia (Kalimantan). Although peatlands only account for about 3% of the world’s surface area, they store twice as much carbon dioxide as all the world’s forests put together. The renaturation, conservation and rewatering that we support ensures that the peatlands are preserved and rebuilt as a global CO2 reservoir.

 

Author: Marc Eulen

Allgemein

C/sells Autonomy Lab Leimen as blueprint for the amendment of §14a EnWG and §9 EEG

The C/sells demo cell Leimen demonstrates for the first time a practical solution for the implementation of current draft laws and amendments with regard to controllability at the digital grid connection point. With the design and concept implemented in Leimen, the grid operator is on the one hand empowered to monitor the current power at the grid connection point of a building and on the other hand – in case of a grid-critical situation – to temporarily limit this power. Starting from the grid control center, a power limitation, which can apply to both the supply and the demand, is transmitted to the building via a safe channel through the smart meter gateway. The signal is then transmitted via the FNN control box to the local energy management system. Latter controls again all connected devices in the building according to this maximum available power, e.g. by reducing the charging current of the wallbox. The implementation is based on the EEBUS standard as well as the new VDE application rule 2829-6. The C/sells partners Stadtwerke Schwäbisch Hall, VIVAVIS AG, Schleupen AG, Fraunhofer IEE and KEO GmbH as well as prosumer Andreas Kießling (energy design) were part of the technical success.

More detailed information can be found in this IBZ report as well as in the official PR!

 

Author: Marc Eulen

Allgemein

PEEEKS integrates EEBUS, for plug & play connectivity of smart energy devices inside buildings

The specialist for home energy management Peeeks integrates EEBUS, for plug&play ready connection and connectivity of smart energy devices in the building. Intelligent control of energy at home: Peeeks networks energy consumers and producers in the household and thus enables optimization of own consumption, intelligent charging management and integration into flexibility trading. With EEBUS, Peeeks’ Energy Management System (EMS) receives the standardized interface for communication with all energy-relevant device domains within the building and the grid. To begin with, Peeeks offers its customers full support of all EEBUS E-Mobility functionalities. Peeeks cooperates with KEO GmbH for the integration of EEBUS into their energy management solutions

 

Author: Marc Eulen

Allgemein

KEO sees green!

Can small businesses also make their contribution to achieving climate targets? As a young software company with offices in two locations, we believe: Yes!

In order to reduce our consumption of resources to a minimum and at the same time strengthen our economic efficiency and authenticity, we are one of 13 motivated participants of the Ökoprofit Program NRW since autumn 2019.

In collaboration with FC Köln, Brauerei Heller, Stadtwerke Hürth and other committed companies and associations, we are working in regular workshops and individual consultation to develop, step by step, measures for the long-term reduction of our costs while simultaneously increasing our eco-efficiency.

The overarching objective is the sustainable economic and ecological strengthening of our company. Central topics are the reduction of water and energy consumption as well as waste reduction and the increase of material efficiency.

We will minimize our ecological footprint, resulting from electricity, heat and mobility requirements, to the maximum extent possible!

Furthermore, we want to focus on the topic of sustainable software: The creation, operation and benefit of the software should be sustainable.

More specifically, we have set ourselves a target of 2020 (cf. 2018):

  • Reduce the amount of waste by 25%.
  • Reduction of CO2 emissions by 50%.
  • Publication of our guidelines on resource use and sustainable software

Our goals for 2022 (cf. 2018) are:

  • CO2 neutrality
  • Reduction of the amount of waste by 50%.
  • Convince at least two other companies to participate in Ökoprofit or comparable certification

It becomes obvious: KEO not only sees red (during the next match of our famous local football team FC Köln) but also green.

The 13 participants in this year’s round are:

 

Author: Marc Eulen

Allgemein

PPC implements e-mobility solution with EEBUS

In order to control charging processes of electric cars from the grid operator’s perspective, Power Plus Communications AG (PPC) has developed an interoperable solution together with KEO. For this purpose, the partners have extended the functional scope of the CLS Gateway from PPC to include EEBUS. The upgrade enables communication with a charging station via the CLS Gateway using the EEBUS protocol. This solution can be easily transferred to the Smart Meter Gateway architecture in other projects. PPC and KEO thus already enable the interoperable control of charging points today.

 

For detailed information, click here.

 

Author: Marc Eulen