Corporate investors General Electric, Engie, AGL Energy and Southern Company have exited energy bidding software provider Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) in a purchase of undisclosed size by energy storage technology producer Fluence.
AMS has created software that uses artificial intelligence to calculate the value of power production, renewable energy and battery system portfolios and optimise the bidding process for them as assets.
Fluence, a joint venture by industrial technology and appliance manufacturer Siemens and energy distributor AES, will utilise the company’s technology in activities such as modelling the degradation rate of batteries and creating algorithms for use in the energy trading market.
The deal followed $52m in funding across two rounds, beginning with an $18m series A round in 2015 that was led by venture capital fund DBL Partners and backed by energy utility Engie and individual investors including Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Two other utilities, AGL Energy and Southern Company, took part in AMS’s $34m series B round two years later along with GE Ventures, the since shuttered corporate venturing arm of power and industrial equipment maker General Electric.
Energy-focused investment firm Energy Impact Partners led the 2017 round, which also featured DBL Partners, Macquarie Capital, a subsidiary of investment banking group Macquarie, and existing backers including Schwarzenegger.
AMS’s chief executive, Seyed Madaeni, said: “Customers are building larger fleets of energy storage and flexible generation assets, while at the same time wholesale markets are becoming more complex and volatile.
“We have a unique opportunity to lead the clean energy revolution by using AI to optimise the dispatch of flexible assets, maximise their value and make the entire electric power system more responsive, reliable and resilient. As part of the Fluence team, we will have the capabilities and resources to accelerate the global expansion of our software.”
