Sitigrid

Summary

Our mission is to make renewable energy affordable and efficient. Sitigrid is a market- maker. We make our margin on the spread of energy prices by installing panels on rooftops with no upfront cost, and then sell the energy to the roof owner at a substantial discount OR sell it peer to peer to the neighbours, electric vehicles OR back to the grid using artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology.

Our goal is to ensure a sustainable energy future.

Seeking to raise £4m for an 18-month runway, of which £400k is committed.

Investment Interview

Explain what your venture does.

Sitigrid is a market maker and we make our margin on the spread of energy prices. Sitigrid creates virtual solar farms by installing panels on rooftops with no upfront cost, and then sell the energy to the roof owner at a substantial discount OR sell it peer to peer OR back to the grid OR charge electric vehicles – the decision is made by our unique and proprietary technology. The benefit is reduced energy bills for all Sitigrid customers – those with panels and those receiving energy from them.

What stage is your business?

We are about to launch a pilot in Great Easton under the Ofgem sandbox. Our pilot would allow us to test and validate our blockchain technology prior to our beachhead market with Bouygues and Network Rail.

Describe your advisers.

Our Investing NEDs and Advisors include Nick Wayth (Strategy) ex head BP renewables and CEO Energy Institute; Nigel Petrie (HR) ex-Director National Grid and Chairman AD group; Ashley Unitt (Technology), is the founder and ex-CTO of NewVoiceMedia acquired by Vonage for £350m; Daniel Callis (Finance) ex HSBC European Head - Natural Resources, Energy, Utilities and Chemicals; Anne Devlin (Trading) Ex-BP trading head and director Terra Solar; Martin Reason (Sales and Marketing) is the ex-CEO of Melton Melbrow Building society 2006 -2020 and NED at Mattioli Woods plc; Andrew Roberts – (Legal) over 30 years as a legal consultant; Alistair Gray head (Accounting) ex KPMG and NED Bedfordia group; Alastair Barron (Risk and Security) ex Barclays, Lehman brothers and Old Mutual; Jacqui Pynn (Energy Markets) executive director Chrysaor; Chris Staveley (Investor relations) ex-CEO Smart fibre acquired by Halliburton; Mac Andrade (Network rail) ex First Group and NED Tracsis plc; Andrew Geffryes (Supply chain) – Chief Procurement Manager for over 25 years.

Give an overview of your startup's financing history.

We have raised a pre-seed investment of over £300k from our non-executive directors and advisors at a £2.5million pre-money valuation. We also applied for the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund (EEF) with matched funding raised.

Explain the ownership structure of your company.

Founder majority, early investors, employees, and management.

How many employees do you have?

7 FTEs (3 Kickstarter) and a few Contractors.

Please provide the name of a lawyer, who will represent you for the upcoming investment round.

Bloomberg legal team (acquired through Imperial Enterprise Lab) and Andrew Roberts (Sitigrid Investing Legal Advisor).

How much money are you seeking to raise in the current round?

£4,000,000.

Do you have any existing commitments to the current round?

£400,000 from Investing Advisors and NEDs.

Explain why you are raising finance.

The capital raised would be used to onboard additional team members, developers to improve our product during the pilot, a core management team to launch and scale the business, build our supply chain and market our product.

Please explain the history of your venture.

Despite the attention and calls for a sustainable future, energy still accounts for over 30% of green house gas emissions in the UK. This can be attributed to the high cost of going green for households and businesses especially since the withdrawal is feed-in-tariff in 2019.

We also have the elephant in the room, the UK power grid is creaking at the seams and would not be able to handle additional output from offshore wind. Upgrading the grid would cost the UK government billions(£).

Sitigrid was conceived to optimise energy efficiency by limiting the dependence on the Power grid hence reducing transmission losses. We also remove the barriers to going green by providing the panels at no upfront cost to the consumer. What’s not to like?

Please explain the longer term, future vision for the Company

Sitigrid provides the framework for a sustainable energy future . Our solution would allow emerging economies to leap frog from poor grid infrastructure to Sitigrid.

Explain the core technologies and/or service propositions of your venture.

The Sitigrid blockchain solution improves the efficiency of energy networks through microgrids with peer to peer energy transactions that would cut down transmission losses. Our solution provides a digital audit trail for renewable energy using tokens and simplifies energy settlements that take up to 14 months under current market conditions using smart contracts. Sitigrid uses AI to optimize assets within our microgrids for balancing energy demand and supply. With AI, we can also detect faulty assets and theft within our network.

Does your commercial strategy rely on intellectual property assets?

Our primary revenue is from the spread of energy prices, we also plan to license our technology to already established market players. Patent application in progress (Attorney: Bowden Associates).

What commercial progress have you made?

• Unique Sitigrid blockchain (S-chain) system developed enabling virtual solar farms and peer-to-peer transactions.
• Early-stage investors and advisors onboard with relevant experience and great motivation to deliver.
• Grant application for £500k filed and match funding already in place.
• Pilot in great Easton under the Ofgem Sandbox.
• MOU for a joint venture with a licensed Energy supply partner as a quick route to market.
• Clients lined up for system trial (Bouygues, Network Rail and Melton building Society).