Japan-based energy services provider Digital Grid has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from investors including Toyota Tsusho Corporation, the trading subsidiary of carmaker Toyota.
Biomass fuel research and development agency Green Power Development Corporation of Japan also participated in the round, which took the company’s overall funding to approximately ¥1.35bn ($12.4m).
Founded in 2017, Digital Grid runs a peer-to-peer electricity trading scheme called Digital Grid Platform (DGP) that enables users to trade energy from renewable and non-renewable sources. The funding will support the commercialisation of DGP.
The company had secured $5.5m in a September 2019 round featuring coprorate investors including solar power system provider For Delight, cybersecurity consulting firm Fuva Brain (formerly known as Ahkun) and diversified trading group Mitsubishi.
Motorised vehicle manufacturer Kawasaki Heavy Industries, renewable energy utility Tsuruden, beauty care product supplier OTS, electronics producer Toshiba and industrial chemicals and electronics provider Hakuto also took part in the round, as did VC firm World Innovation Fund.
Digital Grid’s website lists additional backers without stating when they invested. They include energy utilities Hiroshima Gas, Hokkaido Gas, IS Gastem, JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy, Kyushu Electric Power, Nippon Gas, Toho Gas and Tokyo Gas, e-commerce platform Felissimo and electronics manufacturers Hitachi and Sony.
Electrical component producers Denkosha, Fujikura, Furukawa Electric, Koden, Macnica, Nitto Kogyo, Tateyama Kagaku Industry and Tessera Technology, energy product makers AOI Holdings and Mitsuuroko Vessel, IT services providers Nihon Unisys, Kyocera, Billing System and NEC Fielding, and veneer and plywood producers Hokusan and Sumitomo Forestry were also on the roster.
The investors were filled out by solar system providers Alpha Zeroth, Mirainect, Tadec and Yokohama Kankyo Design; building equipment installer Clima-Teq; workplace learning software developer Looop; conglomerates Sojitz and Sumitomo; general contractors Shimizu and Yoshida-gumi; financial services firms Tokyo Century Leasing and Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance; engineering services provider JFE Engineering and advisory firm AshuIR.
