A Platform for Transparent and Traceable Renewable Energy Certificates
Power generation without greenhouse gas emissions is core to the clean energy transition, and corporations worldwide are leaning in with commitments to a roadmap for meeting 100% of their power needs with renewable energy. Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) have emerged as an important market-based instrument enabling companies to achieve this goal. A REC guarantees that one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity was generated from a renewable source and transmitted to the grid. In typical circumstances, RECs can only be sold once. The purchaser of the REC can then retire it and get the credit for the environmental benefits.
While the purchase of RECs is one of the most common forms of green-power procurement in the market today, challenges in transparency, traceability, fluctuating costs and the predictability of renewable sources have hindered trust in RECs and limited their impact. To ensure continued confidence in the procurement of clean energy by corporate end-users, there’s a need for RECs to be priced, regulated, and sold in a transparent way. This is why we are excited to announce Toyota Ventures’ investment in Renewabl.
Founded in 2023 in London, United Kingdom, Renewabl has developed a software platform that analyzes companies’ renewable energy portfolios and facilitates REC transactions via tenders or marketplace. The technology automatically matches companies’ energy consumption patterns on an hourly basis with the existing renewable energy solutions the company has procured as well as recommends the optimal profiles of renewable energy developers and their projects to achieve the company’s target Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) score.
Every REC bought via the platform is time-stamped using an independent digital ledger on the Solana blockchain. This avoids double counting and enables tracing of the REC’s origin to a specific date and time at the exact hydroelectric, wind, solar, or green hydrogen farm that produced it. By utilizing blockchain technology, Renewabl aims to ensure that data can be utilized for tracing certificate transactions executed via Renewabl’s platform, thus tracking energy procurement with precision.
“We’re impressed by the expertise of Renewabl’s founding team and their approach to optimizing clean energy procurement. Renewabl’s software platform and marketplace are key stepping stones on the path to offering impactful and traceable solutions for strengthening the claims of renewable energy credits and the realization of a true zero-carbon electricity grid.” — Lisa Coca, Climate Fund partner, Toyota Ventures
The Renewabl founding team includes CEO Juan Pablo “JP” Cerda, a serial entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the energy and renewables sectors, and CTO Nick Martyniuk, who previously founded a marketplace for power purchase agreements.
Renewabl’s platform allows companies, generators, developers and utilities to understand consumption and export data, emissions, supply chain overview and allows a way to execute transactions by being automatically matched with the best 24/7 energy solution. Companies using the platform are able to filter certificates by price, location, or energy type, and Renewabl’s smart algorithms highlight the most impactful clean energy products available. Renewabl’s team is also further developing the functionality of its platform to visualize and assess consumption data and renewable energy portfolios that factor in energy, hourly carbon free energy (CFE) scores, and Scope 2 and 3 emissions.
By offering transparency and methods to improve a customer’s emission profile, Renewabl’s platform aims to increase the credibility of RECs and encourage more buyers to come into the renewable energy market. This provides financial incentives for developers to explore and invest in new renewable energy projects and reduce the percentage of power from fossil-fuel sources.
Toyota Ventures is proud to support the Renewabl team by participating in the company’s seed round. Toyota Ventures Climate Fund partner Lisa Coca and principal Ethan Sohn drove Toyota Ventures’ participation, and the round was led by Helen Ventures. Additional investors included Encevo Group, Enery, Nesta, and others.
To learn more about Renewabl, visit the company’s website or the Toyota Ventures portfolio page.
