Centrica to invest in fund backing the technologies driving the energy transition

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Centrica has made a $13.5 million anchor commitment to the first close of ERV Fund II, a new fund from London-based venture capital firm Energy Revolution. The fund is targeting US$50 million and invests at Seed and Series A in energy storage, grid technology and advanced materials.

​​The electrification of transport, heating and industry, alongside the rapid growth of data centres, is accelerating demand for electricity. That is putting greater pressure on the grids, storage systems, and materials needed to generate, move and deliver reliable power.​

Founded in 2021, ERV Group backs early-stage energy technology companies through ERV Fund II and its venture builder, Prosemino. Its technical committee is led by three UK experts: Professor Paul Shearing, Director of the Zero Institute at Oxford University; Professor Chris Howard, Professor of Materials Physics at University College London; and Daniel Brett, CEO of Sention Technologies and formerly co-head of UCL’s Electrochemical Innovation Lab. The firm also has seven full-time PhDs across its technical team.

ERV’s $18 million Fund I is fully invested in 10 global companies, including Anthro Energy, Sention Technologies, Immaterial and Blixt, with several follow-on rounds already completed. 

​​For portfolio companies, Centrica's anchor commitment offers a potential route to real-world validation across one of the UK's largest integrated energy businesses spanning energy retail, production, storage and optimisation. The partnership will support the development of technologies that can accelerate the energy transition and improve how Centrica serves its customers today and in the future.​  

Fund II is independently managed and investment decisions remain with ERV's investment committee. 

Chris O’Shea, Group Chief Executive at Centrica, said: "To meet the challenges of the energy transition, we need new technologies that can be deployed at scale to deliver secure and affordable energy. That’s why we’re backing Energy Revolution Ventures.​​ 

​​“ERV’s deep understanding of the innovation taking place across energy storage, transmission and generation aligns closely with our mission to meet the evolving energy needs of homes and businesses. By supporting breakthrough technologies at an early stage, we can help turn promising ideas into real-world solutions that benefit our customers in the years ahead.”​ 

Marcus Clover, Co-Founding General Partner of ERV, said: "Batteries, motors and power electronics, the building blocks of electrification, have each fallen to a fraction of their cost 20 years ago, and I believe the cost of moving things, heating things and making materials will converge on the cost of electrons. As more of the economy electrifies, new markets and industries follow, from storing power to heating homes and even making the fuels and materials the global economy runs on. Fund II backs the founders building those markets at Seed and Series A, and Centrica anchoring it means they start with one of the UK's most important energy utilities behind them."