With the development of wind power and photovoltaics, we need to “oil” the grid and increase the number of interactions between the various players, says the Nexxtlab CEO. Photo: Shutterstock

With the development of wind power and photovoltaics, we need to “oil” the grid and increase the number of interactions between the various players, says the Nexxtlab CEO. Photo: Shutterstock

Nexxtlab CEO Olivier Piraux and a number of private shareholders have taken over Powerdale’s 50% stake in Nexxtlab. They have also raised new capital, including from Creos--which holds the other 50%--to cover growth over the next five years, targeting Germany and the Benelux countries.

“This substantial investment will drive us to new heights, empowering us to make an even greater impact [on the] energy transition.” In a statement released only on LinkedIn, Nexxtlab CEO Olivier Piraux announced that he had raised new capital. “To guarantee the financial means to scale over the next five years,” he adds by telephone.

There are two aspects to this: Piraux had to find the means to take over the 50% stake in Powerdale, which had gone bankrupt, which he did personally and with a small group of private shareholders who were keen to maintain discretion. He also had to convince the two new parties to contribute even more to launch the startup’s next stage: scaling up. “Because I believe in it myself, I took part in this round of financing,” he explains. It’s a round in which no one is diluted, meaning that Creos participated up to its previous 50%.

“This funding injection is not just financial support; it’s a vote of confidence in our vision. The funds will be used to optimise our Simplify platform and to fuel our marketing and sales efforts; it will catapult us into new markets, expedite product development and enable us to reach a broader audience,” he wrote in his post.

First subsidiary in Germany

On the phone, he explained that with the development of wind and solar power, “we need to increase the number of interactions between grid operators, suppliers and end customers. That’s what we’re doing with our software-as-a-service solutions. We also have two hardware products.” Nexxtlab also recently opened its first subsidiary in Germany, in Hombourg in the Saarland, expanding its operations there as it has in Luxembourg and Belgium--and hopes to do in the Netherlands.

Always on the lookout for developers and new employees, the team has already grown from 14 to 21 and should reach around 30 by the end of 2024. “We have to be careful about what we do, and I’m keen to onboard new recruits,” he explains.

Creos and Powerdale had announced their 50-50 joint venture in December 2017 for the start of operations the following January. At the end of 2022, the startup had ended with a negative result of -€146,441, which was added to the €345,400 in losses carried forward until then.

This article in Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.

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