decarbon1ze
decarbon1ze GmbH operates a licensed virtual balancing area connecting 800+ German DSOs into a unified digital layer, enabling direct EV charging supply, virtual metering, power-to-heat, and energy sharing for charge point operators, fleet operators, real estate, municipalities, and energy suppliers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What decarbon1ze does
decarbon1ze GmbH is a Berlin-based, privately held German energy technology company founded in 2021 that operates a licensed virtual balancing area — functioning as a NeoDSO — connecting more than 800 German distribution system operators (DSOs) into a single digital infrastructure layer. The platform abstracts the fragmented German low-voltage grid behind a unified interface, with coverage of over 80% nationwide across all four German control areas, and serves charge point operators (CPOs), eTruck and passenger fleet operators, employers with workplace charging, municipalities, real estate companies, housing associations, and energy suppliers with services that were previously impossible under standard grid architecture.
The company's product portfolio is built on the virtual grid and comprises direct supply (Durchleitung) for EV charging — including a dedicated eTruck charging module designed to meet federal tender requirements for highway fast-charging infrastructure — virtual metering behind physical meters, the mob1le.energy customer portal, Power-to-Heat (Windduschen) immersion-heater installations in residential hot water tanks to absorb curtailed wind power, and gGv/Energy Sharing solutions for apartment buildings and energy communities operating under §42b and §42c of the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG). The technical stack integrates via OCPI and REST APIs for charge point management and via EDIFACT for energy market communication, with separate electricity supplier and reseller permits issued in August 2024.
Revenue is generated through custom B2B contracts with charge point operators, real estate companies, municipalities, and energy suppliers, with monetization spanning managed services for direct supply, subscription-based digital metering, professional services for Windduschen installation and operations, and transaction fees for gGv/Energy Sharing implementation. Distribution is exclusively direct enterprise sales; the company does not sell directly to consumers. Strategic positioning is reinforced by a founding team with prior experience scaling ubitricity, including CEO Knut Hechtfischer, who co-founded ubitricity and previously raised over 50M€ for that company.
decarbon1ze firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- decarbon1ze
- Legal name
- decarbon1ze GmbH
- Website
- https://decarbon1ze.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- decarbon1ze GmbH operates a licensed virtual balancing area connecting 800+ German DSOs into a unified digital layer, enabling direct EV charging supply, virtual metering, power-to-heat, and energy sharing for charge point operators, fleet operators, real estate, municipalities, and energy suppliers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
decarbon1ze industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Virtual Grid / Energy Infrastructure Software
- NAICS
- Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution (22112), Electric Bulk Power Transmission and Control (221121), Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- SIC
- Electric Services (4911), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Behind-the-Meter Aggregators Acting as DSO (Virtual Power Plant / Community Energy Operators) (EUADABAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- EV Charging & Fleet VPP Aggregation (Managed Charging, V2G, Depot/Highway) (EUAFAHAC), DER Aggregation & Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) (EUAMAJAC), Telemetry, Metering & Measurement & Verification (M&V) for Flexibility (EUAFAHAJ), DER Financing, Contracting & Program Management (PPAs, Shared Savings, Performance) (EUAFAHAL)
Keywords
Where decarbon1ze is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
decarbon1ze business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Virtual Grid / Direct Supply Services: decarbon1ze operates as a wVNB (virtual balancing responsible party) providing direct supply services for charge point operators, enabling tariff choice at charging spots. Revenue is derived from service fees charged to CPOs for implementing and operating direct supply infrastructure, including data communication, settlement, and billing services.
- Digital Metering Services: Provides metering and billing services for complex metering points (komplexe Messstelle) behind physical meters. Services include virtual sum meters, quarter-hourly data processing, and billing for power-to-heat installations, energy sharing communities, and workplace EV charging. Revenue is earned through per-meter and per-session fees.
- Power-to-Heat (Windduschen): Installs and manages remote-controlled immersion heaters in hot water storage tanks for real estate companies, municipalities, and energy suppliers. Revenue is generated from installation fees, operational pooling and forecasting services, and billing of the dedicated wind power tariff to households.
- gGv / Energy Sharing Implementation: Provides end-to-end implementation of community building supply (gGv) and energy sharing under §42c EnWG for housing associations, energy cooperatives, and rooftop PV operators. Services include virtual sum metering, consumption allocation, and supplier integration, billed per metering point or as a share of managed energy volumes.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Windduschen Power-to-Heat electricity rate |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
decarbon1ze product offering
Product offeringCore offering
decarbon1ze operates a virtual grid (Virtuelles Netz) — a digital infrastructure layer connecting over 800 German distribution system operators into a single virtual balancing area (NeoDSO) covering all four German control areas. On this platform the company delivers direct supply (Durchleitung) for EV charging, virtual metering behind physical meters, Power-to-Heat (Windduschen) for converting building hot water tanks into wind power batteries, and gGv / Energy Sharing for renewable energy communities. Customers are charge point operators, fleet operators, real estate companies, municipalities, and energy suppliers.
Product overview
decarbon1ze operates the first virtual grid (Virtuelles Netz) across Germany, a digital infrastructure layer that connects over 800 distribution network operators into a unified NeoDSO platform. The core Virtual Grid enables innovative energy services including direct supply, virtual metering behind physical meters, and billing for complex metering points. The product portfolio built on this platform includes: eTruck Charging for direct supply at highway charging infrastructure; Charging at Work and Charging at Home for company fleet charging with employer tariff control; Public Charging for free tariff choice at community charging points; Power-to-Heat (Windduschen) for turning building heating storage into wind power batteries; and gGv/Energy Sharing for communal renewable energy distribution. The mob1le.energy Portal provides the customer interface for tariff selection and billing management across these solutions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Virtual Grid (Virtuelles Netz) A digital infrastructure layer connecting over 800 German distribution network operators into a unified virtual grid (NeoDSO), enabling innovative energy services (direct supply, V2G, co-located storage, power-to-heat) that were previously impossible with standard grid infrastructure. Sold to charge point operators, fleet operators, real estate companies, municipalities, and energy suppliers.
- eTruck Charging (Bring Your Own Power) Direct supply solution for electric truck charging infrastructure along German highways, enabling free choice of supplier and tariff, transparent pricing, and simplified billing for fleet operators.
- Charging at Work Direct supply service enabling employees to charge EVs at workplace charging stations using their preferred tariff, with individual billing separated from the company's electricity account.
- Charging at Home (Company Fleet) Direct supply service for company electric vehicles charging at employee home wallboxes, billed directly to the company invoice with VAT-deductibility benefits.
- Public Charging Direct supply service enabling free choice of tariffs at public charging points, allowing EV drivers without private driveways to select their preferred supplier and rate.
- Power-to-Heat (Windduschen) Activation of hot water storage tanks in buildings as flexible storage for curtailed wind energy, converting remote-controlled immersion heaters into grid-relief assets operated under dedicated wind-power tariffs. Sold to real estate companies, municipalities, and energy suppliers.
- gGv / Energy Sharing Service enabling shared renewable energy generation in apartment buildings and energy communities, implementing §42c EnWG communal building supply and energy sharing with quarter-hourly allocation of rooftop PV to participants and free choice of residual electricity supplier.
Quantifiable outcome
- Direct supply enables 19% VAT savings on company EV charging electricity
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use decarbon1ze
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
decarbon1ze technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability3 records
Feature6 records
decarbon1ze partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Stromnetz BerlincoreGrid operator partner in the Berlin-Pankow shared building solar pilot project. Stromnetz Berlin supports the implementation of the first shared building solar power supply project in Germany with virtual metering under §42b EnWG, as part of Berlin's Masterplan Solarcity for climate neutrality by 2045.
- Octopus EnergycoreEnergy supplier partner in the Berlin-Pankow shared building solar pilot project, supporting the supply of residual electricity to the community energy sharing initiative managed by decarbon1ze's virtual balancing technology.
- Green Planet Energy (Greenpeace Energy)coreGreen Planet Energy supplies residual electricity to the Berlin-Pankow shared building solar project managed by decarbon1ze. The partnership enables residents to receive renewable residual electricity supply alongside their shared solar power from the 14 kW rooftop installation and balcony solar systems.
- LichtBlickcorePartner energy supplier for workplace charging solutions. LichtBlick provides electricity supply services integrated through decarbon1ze's virtual grid, enabling free tariff choice for employees at workplace charging points.
- 50HertzcoreTransmission system operator partner for workplace charging and virtual grid operations. 50Hertz collaborates with decarbon1ze on grid integration and flexibility management for charging infrastructure in their control area.
- LIBREOminorPartner for charging infrastructure management and energy services distribution, integrating with decarbon1ze's virtual grid platform for billing and data exchange.
- VonoviacoreGermany's largest residential real estate company, partnering with decarbon1ze on Power-to-Heat (Windduschen) as the first step toward phasing out fossil fuel-based heating in the building stock.
- prokoncoreInnovative green energy supplier providing wind-generated electricity to customers through decarbon1ze's Windduschen power-to-heat solution. prokon supplies the dedicated wind power tariff used to activate immersion heaters in residential buildings.
- NovoltominorPartner in the Windduschen power-to-heat ecosystem, contributing to heating supply solutions integrated with decarbon1ze's virtual grid and flexible storage management.
- Hamburger EnergienetzeminorRegional energy network operator in Hamburg partnering with decarbon1ze on Windduschen implementation, integrating wind power into building heating supply in the Hamburg region.
- Startup Labor SchwedtminorLocal startup and innovation hub in Schwedt partnering with decarbon1ze and the municipality to implement Windduschen with households, businesses, and housing developers in the Uckermark region.
- BEN (Berliner Energiegenossenschaft)coreBerlin energy cooperative partner for energy sharing implementation. BEN collaborates with decarbon1ze on implementing §42c EnWG-compliant energy sharing communities in Berlin, enabling residents to share renewable energy.
- FFE (Forschungsstelle für Energiewirtschaft)minorResearch institution for energy economics partnering with decarbon1ze on energy sharing and gGv research, providing academic support and validation for innovative virtual grid services.
- SkiesminorEnergy tech partner for implementing energy sharing solutions through decarbon1ze's virtual grid, contributing to the technical infrastructure for community energy distribution and billing.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
decarbon1ze competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GridBeyond: UK- and Ireland-based VPP and flexibility aggregation platform serving commercial and industrial customers. Comparable to decarbon1ze in providing DSO-agnostic flexibility services and demand response, though operating in different geographies and primarily targeting industrial loads rather than EV/heating.
- The Mobility House: Germany-based EV flexibility and V2G platform enabling bidirectional charging and grid services from electric vehicles. Directly comparable to decarbon1ze's EV charging aggregation and virtual grid approach, particularly around making vehicle batteries accessible to energy markets.
- LichtBlick: Innovative German green energy supplier operating its own virtual power plant (Lichtblick Zuhause) for residential flexibility, and a direct decarbon1ze partner for workplace charging. Comparable because it operates in the same intersection of energy supply, flexibility aggregation, and customer-facing energy services in Germany.
- Next Kraftwerke: Germany's largest independent virtual power plant operator, aggregating distributed energy resources across multiple grid areas. Directly comparable to decarbon1ze as both operate as aggregators/balancing responsible parties with multi-DSO reach in the German market, though Next Kraftwerke focuses on generation rather than EV flexibility.
- ubitricity: UK- and Germany-focused lamppost and mobile EV charging operator co-founded by decarbon1ze's CEO; directly comparable because it pioneered mobile metering for EV charging — the same technical foundation decarbon1ze's virtual grid builds on. Decarbon1ze's founding team largely originated from ubitricity.
Emerging players
- Tibber: Digital energy retailer operating in Germany and other European markets with dynamic tariffs, EV charging integration, and smart home energy services. Comparable to decarbon1ze in targeting EV drivers with tariff choice and dynamic pricing, though Tibber focuses on retail rather than the wholesale/grid layer.
Broad incumbents
- Sonnen (sonnen GmbH): German residential battery and energy community pioneer, now part of Shell, providing virtual power plant services for behind-the-meter storage. Comparable to decarbon1ze's energy-sharing and behind-the-meter aggregation concepts, though sonnen's primary asset is hardware rather than a software/grid abstraction layer.
- EnBW: One of Germany's largest integrated utilities with significant investments in EV charging infrastructure, VPP services, and virtual balancing. Comparable to decarbon1ze in serving CPOs and EV flexibility markets in Germany, with much broader scale and incumbent DSO relationships.
- Octopus Energy: UK-origin energy supplier with growing German operations (Octopus Energy Germany) and direct decarbon1ze partner in the Berlin-Pankow gGv pilot. Comparable because it operates Kraken-powered flexible energy services, dynamic tariffs, and EV charging products targeting the same customer types as decarbon1ze.
Regional players
- SMART/LAB GmbH: Germany-based joint venture of municipal utilities providing e-roaming, charging infrastructure management, and EV-related services. Comparable to decarbon1ze in serving German CPOs and municipalities with EV charging infrastructure services, though SMART/LAB focuses on inter-CPO roaming rather than virtual grid aggregation.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
decarbon1ze social profiles
Digital presencedecarbon1ze compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
decarbon1ze financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
decarbon1ze leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
decarbon1ze funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
decarbon1ze M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about decarbon1ze
What does decarbon1ze do?
decarbon1ze operates a virtual grid (Virtuelles Netz) — a digital infrastructure layer connecting over 800 German distribution system operators into a single virtual balancing area (NeoDSO) covering all four German control areas. On this platform the company delivers direct supply (Durchleitung) for EV charging, virtual metering behind physical meters, Power-to-Heat (Windduschen) for converting building hot water tanks into wind power batteries, and gGv / Energy Sharing for renewable energy communities. Customers are charge point operators, fleet operators, real estate companies, municipalities, and energy suppliers.
Is decarbon1ze a public or private company?
decarbon1ze is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was decarbon1ze founded?
decarbon1ze was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is decarbon1ze based?
decarbon1ze is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does decarbon1ze make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Virtual Grid / Direct Supply Services are the primary driver. The others are digital Metering Services, power-to-Heat (Windduschen) and gGv / Energy Sharing Implementation.
Who are decarbon1ze's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GridBeyond, The Mobility House, LichtBlick, Next Kraftwerke and ubitricity. Tibber is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Sonnen (sonnen GmbH), EnBW and Octopus Energy. SMART/LAB GmbH is listed as a regional player.
Does decarbon1ze have an API?
Yes. decarbon1ze provides market communication services for energy market participants. Their technical infrastructure supports EDIFACT-based electronic data interchange for market communication, with standardized interfaces for CPMS (Charge Point Management Systems) data exchange including OCPI and REST protocols. They offer industry-standard network usage and supplier framework contracts for electricity market participants, with specific contact data sheets for different roles (network operators, meter operators, suppliers, balance responsible parties). Their market communication supports seamless, standardized data exchange for consumption and contract data as well as billing.
What industry is decarbon1ze in?
decarbon1ze's product category is Virtual Grid / Energy Infrastructure Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUADABAG, Behind-the-Meter Aggregators Acting as DSO (Virtual Power Plant / Community Energy Operators), with a secondary code of EUAFAHAC, EV Charging & Fleet VPP Aggregation (Managed Charging, V2G, Depot/Highway). Its NAICS code is 22112 and its SIC code is 4911.