Decade Energy secures €22 million to develop zero-capex energy infrastructure.

      The financing round consists of €16 million from Eiffel Investment Group for project deployment and €6 million led by SET Ventures aimed at product development and market expansion, with ongoing support from current investors Ananda Impact Ventures and Contrarian Ventures. The firm aims to develop over 100MW of battery energy storage systems (BESS) projects throughout France, followed by initiatives in Germany, the Nordics, and Poland.

      Decade Energy, headquartered in Paris and focused on creating power infrastructure at logistics hubs for electric truck fleets, has secured €22 million in a funding round led by Eiffel Investment Group and SET Ventures, with ongoing backing from existing shareholders Ananda Impact Ventures and Contrarian Ventures.

      This funding round is divided into two segments with specific objectives: €16 million from Eiffel, through the managed fund Eiffel Transition Infrastructure, is earmarked for project deployment, specifically the implementation of a minimum 100MW portfolio of BESS across France, which entails an estimated total project CapEx of around €50 million.

      The remaining €6 million, spearheaded by SET Ventures, will be used to enhance Decade Energy’s energy optimization software, develop new truck charging and photovoltaic solutions, and facilitate expansion into new markets.

      Founded in Paris in 2024 by Casper Norden (CEO), Alexandre Cleret (COO), Alejandro Ortega Peniche, and a team with experience from Volta Trucks and its Truck-as-a-Service (TaaS) division, Decade Energy is rooted in strong industry knowledge. Carl-Magnus Norden established Volta Trucks in 2019, with Casper Norden overseeing the TaaS department, which assisted major European logistics companies in strategizing and implementing fleet electrification.

      Following Volta Trucks’ administration filing in late 2023, the TaaS team transitioned the infrastructure and energy management activities into Decade Energy, subsequently raising €3.6 million in seed funding from Ananda Impact Ventures and Contrarian Ventures in June 2024.

      Decade Energy’s business model is characterized by its zero-CapEx strategy, allowing logistics property owners and depot operators to access necessary grid connections, BESS installations, EV charging infrastructure, solar panels, and energy management software without any upfront costs.

      The company develops, finances, and manages the infrastructure, earning returns through a rental model for property owners and through BESS participation in energy markets, wherein battery storage systems can provide or draw electricity to help stabilize grid fluctuations, receiving compensation from grid operators for their contribution.

      This approach transforms a capital-intensive infrastructure challenge into a more predictable operating cost and enables depots to actively participate in electricity markets rather than merely consume energy.

      Decade Energy aims to solve a structural problem: as electric trucks transition from being a novelty to a norm, the main issue shifts from vehicle availability to accessing grid power. According to the company’s analysis, a typical European logistics depot would require ten to twenty times its existing power capacity to accommodate a fully electrified fleet.

      Grid connection timelines across Europe can span years rather than months, and the complexity of integrating BESS, solar, charging infrastructure, and grid connections typically exceeds the expertise of most logistics operators. Decade Energy's value proposition is to manage this complexity on their behalf.

      Notable early traction figures, as highlighted in the announcement, include over 1,500 feasibility studies for depot electrification completed across Europe, more than 100 projects in development representing over 500MW of capacity, and a pipeline of 50 projects set to commence construction in 2026.

      Decade Energy’s live deployment with Renault Trucks at its Grand Paris location in Gennevilliers combines a new 250 kW grid connection with a 110 kW/220 kWh BESS and up to 360 kW of charging capacity, with AXPO serving as the energy aggregator, showcasing a commercial-scale operational reference for their model.

      The international expansion financed by this round focuses on Germany, the Nordics, Poland, and additional European markets. France has served as Decade Energy’s initial testing ground; the company argues that the grid constraints, connection timelines, and on-site complexities it addresses are prevalent across Europe, driven by the same forces of accelerating electric truck adoption against an infrastructure not originally designed to support it.