Bonn / Munich - 12.12.2011
Smartblue receives seed financing for the intelligent monitoring of photovoltaic systems
“With existing monitoring solutions of photovoltaic systems, you cannot tell whether there was a bad summer or whether the PV system had a defect,“ explains Dr. Philipp Geiger, one of smartblue’s two founders. “We want to change this, because at the end of the day, PV systems have to work perfectly to prevent the investment from losing money. But also because the contribution to the energy transformation has to be maximised.”
Smartblue’s technology detects faults in PV systems in each specific PV module and continuously records their electrical characteristics. This is unique in the market. Only in this way can true fault detection of the PV generator be carried out, which is not possible for most systems as only the inverter is monitored.
Smartblue’s monitoring gives the operator a high degree of security. Since serious faults are also detected automatically, energy production can continue immediately. These systems have no output losses over an extended period of time. Maintenance costs are also reduced, because each fault is localised and thus no fault diagnostics are required.
“An “optimiser” manufactured by an exclusive cooperation partner performs local measurement data acquisition. It has additional functionality that increases system output by up to 20% in case of partial shading as well as completely switching off high voltage in case of a fire,” says Günter Seel, the other of the two founders, explaining the hardware strategy. “In regards to existing systems, our technologies can also be retrofitted.”
Klaus Lehmann, Senior Investment Manager at High-Tech Gründerfonds, clarifies the reason for their investment: “A very large proportion of the PV systems currently in operation fail to achieve the forecast output and thus the return on investment promised to the operator. The causes are often PV modules of inadequate quality or insufficiently maintained systems. What convinced us was that using smartblue AG’s products enables PV systems to be monitored down to the specific module. System faults can be identified faster and more precisely. Above all, due to the increasing installation of Asian PV modules systems, operators are becoming ever more aware of the issues of quality and real systems performance. We are also seeing a new definition of the role of the systems installer in the market. Where up to now the focus has been only on selling a PV system, the role of the installer is transitioning towards the long-term support of the system. Monitoring and needs-based maintenance are essential for the long-term and efficient support of a PV system. We are convinced that smartblue AG will quickly assume a leading role in this market segment.”
The company was able to win over Dr. Dobelmann, Managing Executive Director of RAL Gütegemeinschaft Solarenergieanlagen (a quality association for solar energy systems) and proven solar expert, as a coach.
“Smartblue technology has the right answer for fundamental problems of the PV market and is thus leading a trend. That convinced us”, says private investor Martin Weiss, summarising his investment decision.
About smartblue AG
Smartblue AG was founded in 2010 by Dr. Philipp Geiger and Günter Seel. The company develops, markets and operates an internet-based service for the intelligent fault detection of photovoltaic systems. Smartblue’s monitoring is precise down to the individual module and detects every malfunction that lowers output.
Contact:
smartblue AG
Dr. Philipp Geiger and Günter Seel
Management Board
Ganghoferstr. 68a, 80339 Munich
Phone: +49 (0) 89 41 61 72 410
info@smartblue.de
www.smartblue.de
About High-Tech Gründerfonds
High-Tech Gründerfonds invests risk capital in young, promising technology companies that implement auspicious research results in an entrepreneurial way. The start-up companies use the seed funding to help them conduct their research and development plans until a prototype/proof of concept is provided or the product is launched on the market. The fund generally invests €500,000 and up to €2 million is available per company. Investors in this public/private partnership include the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, the KfW Banking Group, as well as twelve industrial groups of ALTANA, BASF, B. Braun, Robert Bosch, CEWE Color, Daimler, Deutsche Post DHL, Deutsche Telekom, Qiagen, RWE Innogy, Tengelmann and Carl Zeiss. High-Tech Gründerfonds has a total fund volume of approximately €560.5 million (€272 million for Fund I and €288.5 million for Fund II).
Contact:
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Klaus Lehmann
Senior Investment Manager
Ludwig-Erhard-Allee 2
53175 Bonn
Phone: +49 228 823001-00
Fax: +49 228 823000-50
info@htgf.de
www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de
