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Next Kraftwerke

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Operator of a large Virtual Power Plants (VPPs)

Cologne, GermanyFounded 2009Energy
Revenue $1–5B Latest reported FY
Headcount 100–500 Current team size
Unlock exact values This page shows ranges. Dealroom has the exact numbers for Next Kraftwerke and the history behind them.

About Next Kraftwerke

Founded in 2009 by Hendrik Sämisch and Jochen Schwill, Next Kraftwerke operates as a digital utility, managing one of Europe's largest Virtual Power Plants (VPP). The company's inception was driven by the founders' academic research into balancing the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources. Next Kraftwerke achieved financial break-even in 2013 and subsequently expanded its operations across several European countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, and Switzerland. A significant milestone occurred in February 2021, when Shell Overseas Investment B.V. acquired 100% of the company's shares, positioning Next Kraftwerke as a portfolio company within the Shell group while retaining its brand and management team. Both founders have since transitioned out of the company's leadership.

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The core of Next Kraftwerke's business is its Virtual Power Plant, a sophisticated digital platform that aggregates and controls a vast network of decentralized energy resources. This network includes thousands of power producers, such as wind, solar, biogas, and hydropower plants, alongside power consumers and storage units. By linking these distributed assets, the VPP can intelligently manage electricity supply and demand, functioning much like a traditional power plant but with enhanced flexibility. The company's primary clients are operators of these decentralized assets, who gain access to electricity markets they couldn't enter individually. Revenue is generated by trading the aggregated electricity on major European power exchanges like EPEX and EEX. The business model involves optimizing the dispatch of power to align with price signals from the market, thereby maximizing profitability for its clients and itself.

Next Kraftwerke's main service is the aggregation and trading of electricity from distributed sources. Its proprietary technology, the "Next Box," connects individual assets to the central control system, enabling real-time data exchange and remote management. The platform uses algorithms that process operational data, weather forecasts, and live market data to optimize power dispatch and trading decisions. Key services include power trading, providing balancing energy to stabilize the grid, and power scheduling for flexible consumption. By offering these services, Next Kraftwerke helps to integrate a high share of renewable energy into the power grid, providing ancillary services that ensure grid stability. The company also offers its VPP technology as a service to other utilities and aggregators, allowing them to build their own VPP infrastructure.

Source: Dealroom company data

At a glance

Founded
2009
Headquarters
Cologne, Germany
Sector
Energy
Power Law
Thoroughbred$100M+ revenue

Investors

3 investors on the cap table

From Dealroom's funding and investor records, grouped by the round each investor first entered.

Seed2 investors entered at this stage

Series B and later1 investor entered at this stage

  • Eneco
Employees mapped 267 incl. 2 AI specialists
Founders Hidden — book a demo/100 quality score
Key operators 33 quality Hidden — book a demo/100
Potential founders Hidden — book a demo likely future founders
Startup mafia Hidden — book a demo alumni-founded startups
Talent movements Hidden — book a demo in · Hidden — book a demo out past 12 months

Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.

Global footprint

Workforce and web traffic by country
Workforce by country
6 countries with
team presence
🇩🇪 Germany95.6%
🇳🇱 Netherlands1.6%
🇵🇱 Poland1.1%
🇧🇪 Belgium0.6%
🇺🇸 United States0.6%
Top 5 of 6 shown
Web traffic by country
37K monthly visits
across markets
🇺🇸 United States16.2%
🇮🇳 India8.4%
🇬🇧 United Kingdom7.8%
🇦🇺 Australia7.8%
🇩🇪 Germany7.3%
Top 5 markets shown

Market sentiment

Posts on X, past 7 days

An AI-synthesised read of the highest-engagement posts about Next Kraftwerke on X, ranked by likes and reposts, corporate channels excluded.

Reading the room on X — pulling top posts and synthesizing themes…

Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour

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