GridDuck

Idea

Please note that whilst the campaign is labelled as EIS eligible the Company has £150,000 remaining of its SEIS limit. Grid Duck has accepted £30,000 as part of this round from direct investors who are not claiming SEIS relief, which is reflected in the funds shown in the progress bar already. Therefore, any investment made up to the amount of £180,000 as shown in the progress bar will be eligible for SEIS relief. Any investment made over this amount will be eligible for EIS relief only. Any tax relief is dependent on personal circumstances and may be subject to change in the future.

Introduction

Companies can monitor the consumption of their appliances and switch them on and off remotely.

You can also automatically switch off appliances when they are not needed, saving energy costs.

Only 14% of commercial buildings have a Building Management System. The remaining 86% don’t have the means to automate and manage their appliances.

They are our target market.

We have launched a wireless cloud-based system for companies to manage their energy. It is cost-efficient and easy to install.

We have built an intuitive dashboard, an intelligent software back-end and a software interface (API) for 3rd party systems. We have also integrated a range of wireless sensors and switches.

We are now evolving our technology into a self-learning system that supports time-of-use tariffs, demand response and renewables balancing. This is how we can reduce energy wastage and bring more renewable energy on stream.

Substantial accomplishments to date

2016

· Innovate UK grant (Energy Catalyst 2) to develop a Demand Response prototype

2017

· Initial energy management prototype tested in two fuel stations

· Innovate UK grant (Energy Game Changer and Global Co-operation)

· Runner up, Energy Innovation Awards

2018

· Energy management trials in the UK and Thailand

· Commended, Business Green Technology Awards

2019

· Commercial launch in April 2019

· Grants from BEIS to trial heat pumps, air conditioning units and electric vehicle chargers

· ISO27001 certified for cybersecurity. Penetration Test

· Commended, Business Green Technology Awards

2020

· £20,000 sales in first two months, bringing total to £50,000*

· Green light to install in government buildings (after an 18-months procurement process)

· Winner, Rushlight Energy Reduction Award

*Based on unaudited management accounts

Monetisation strategy

Sales channel: consultants and service providers can bundle our system into their services. For example:

· Energy and sustainability consultants to save their clients energy costs and carbon

· Facility managers to reduce their operations costs and to reduce their clients’ energy costs

· Demand Response aggregators to switch off appliances during demand peaks (usually late afternoons during the colder months), or to balance out intermittent renewable energy

Pricing: We charge a mark-up on the hardware, plus a monthly fee per appliance.

· Installation, support and consultancy is charged extra

· Additional functionality that we develop will be priced on top

· We will offer hardware, software, installation and support in a 3-year deal

Use of proceeds

We will use the proceeds to grow our revenues and evolve our technology.

Growing revenues:

· Supporting our channel partners in onboarding new customers

· Recruiting new energy consultants and facility managers - converting our pipeline

· Depending on how much we end up raising, we will employ one or two full-time salespeople

New product development:

· Mobile app (iOS/Android) for end users, dedicated mobile app for installers

· Interface for you to create your own rule sets to suit your business

· Systems to support time-of-use tariffs, demand response and local balancing with renewables

· Self-learning system to provide “energy as a service” with minimal human intervention

Funding so far:

· Government R&D grants of £600,000 from Innovate UK and BEIS, with an additional £50,000 remaining.

· Director loan and investment of £238,000 (as grant match funding)