£3m-plus financing boost for energy innovator supported by Edinburgh Uni

An energy innovator supported by the University of Edinburgh has secured more than £3 million after a round of seed financing investment.

Ionate, which has been helped by Edinburgh Innovations (EI), the university’s commercialisation service, was founded in 2019 by its chief executive Matthew Williams. The start-up’s patented technology is said to resolve key power quality issues associated with energy decarbonisation.

The finance round, which included investment from the University of Edinburgh’s venture fund, Old College Capital, was led by deep-tech investor IQ Capital, with additional support from Smartworks - the investment arm of Austrian energy supplier Wien Group - cleantech venture capital specialist Cycle Group, and deep-tech climate investor Zero Carbon Capital.

Williams said: “Ionate has been very fortunate to enjoy the support and expertise of Edinburgh Innovations and the university’s school of engineering. They have been key in our success of transforming the initial idea into fully functioning technology in less than three years, and I hope to work together for many years to come.

Matthew Williams, founder and chief executive, and Roberto Ricci, co-founder and chief commercial officer, both of Ionate.

“This investment round will enable us to commercialise our offering and realise Ionate’s role as a technology leader in the journey towards net zero. I’m very excited for the next chapter and to work side-by-side with our investors and partners on what promises to be a time of extraordinary development and growth.”

Andrea Young, head of investment at Old College Capital, added: “Ionate has developed an elegant technology solution, able to help power grids manage major challenges associated with the energy transition.

“There’s an urgent need for its control technology as the transition towards clean energy is driving enormous growth in electrification, renewable generation, and electric vehicle charging.”