EDB highlights ENGIE Factory‘s strategy on paving the way to a zero-carbon future through corporate venturing.
Since 2019, ENGIE Factory has incubated 7 new ventures and tested 10 low-carbon energy solutions from its regional headquarters in Singapore, with many more underway.
With a shared goal of helping businesses in Southeast Asia decarbonise more quickly and profitably, ENGIE Factory has chosen to partner with EDB’s corporate venture building arm, EDB New Ventures, to launch a portfolio of zero-carbon ventures over the next three years.
The two organisations are partnering to jointly incubate and co-invest in new ventures, leveraging expertise and networks from both sides. This article by EDB spotlights the value of corporate venturing, and ENGIE Factory explains how does one find the right collaborators.
New ventures work best when aligned with corporates’ core strengths and growth priorities 
Recruit relentlessly for talent with entrepreneurial chops
New frontiers require new friends
You need a champion, someone who can not only understand the region’s diverse cultures but also command a high level of trust and ownership among stakeholders.
For ENGIE Factory, that champion has been EDB New Ventures. ENGIE Factory has not only benefited from the agency’s industry networks, but also from its venture builders’ close involvement in its incubation sprints.
Examine market gaps that others have missed
At the outset of every new venture, the ENGIE Factory team poses itself two question:
Meeting such demanding criteria is no mean feat. To do so, ENGIE Factory’s ventures use technology to spot untapped opportunities which, on the surface, may not be financially viable for large corporations to pursue.
For example, while Singapore is assumed to have two gigawatts of solar capacity, ENGIE Factory estimates that there are six instead. However, the four remaining gigawatts are decentralised, and not cost-effective for large players to capture.
With ENGIE Factory funding, startup Solar AI used artificial intelligence and satellite imagery to identify overlooked solar sites.
It then used a reverse-auction platform to bulk buy equipment and provide installation and financing, all while achieving the same economies of scale as larger projects.
Launched in 2020 by Bolong Chew, formerly ENGIE Factory’s full-time Entrepreneur-in-residence, Solar AI is already on track to scale across the region.
Verta Bioenergy focuses on the development and sale of high-quality biofuels to industrial B2B customers. The company transforms agricultural and municipal waste into biomass pellets, providing a seamless drop-in solution for fossil fuel replacement that is both cost-competitive and sustainable.
FORESEA aims to assist businesses reliant on seawater data by compiling, analyzing, and utilizing predictive analytics. Through this approach, we equip our clients with data-driven insights that enhance planning, efficiency, and productivity, while also reducing their impact on the ocean.
Polar Cold provides customers with energy efficient cold rooms without hassle. Customers receive the cold room they need, at their facility, with integrated energy efficient technologies and complete IoT solution monitoring, all for a low monthly fee.
As we are moving towards a more electrified future, battery storage solutions play a key role for grid stability, but they are expensive to acquire and a pain to manage. ARQ Energy is delivering and managing battery for multiple users, minimizing the investment required and maximising the usage of the battery.
ORkA is an advanced digital system that easily allows customers to input their energy information – about their buildings, factories, and businesses – and get a clear and professional improvements report instantly. Then, depending on the ROI of each action plan the customer makes an informed decision to choose the best for them, ORkA also offers financing and deployment of the solution.
SustainX is a SaaS platform designed to help financial institutions lower the cost of deploying sustainability-linked loans for the SME segment in ASEAN markets. The solution aims to address challenges for both FIs and SMEs by acting as the largest behind-the-scenes facilitator of Medium Enterprise decarbonisation projects.
EnShare works with REITs and multiple building owners in Australia to optimize rooftop solar and storage installation, as well as aggregate capacity for participation in Australian energy market. Building owners are able to meet ESG targets and receive revenue share
from energy sale to tenants, who in turn access green energy at up to 25% lower tariffs.
EVDots was a startup originally under ENGIE Factory that has now become part of a ComfortDelgro Engie JV that is dedicated to the roll out of EV charging infrastructure and supporting the transition to sustainable transportation. The goal is to provide the entire ecosystem, from renewable energy production to EV charging systems to electric vehicles on the road.
ORkA is an advanced digital system that easily allows customers to input their energy information – about their buildings, factories, and businesses – and get a clear and professional improvements report instantly. Then, depending on the ROI of each action plan the customer makes an informed decision to choose the best for them, ORkA also offers financing and deployment of the solution.
PHNXX delivers containerized solar and battery systems to remote areas, enabling rapid deployment and adaptable energy solutions by offering flexible financing options to service their customers’ sustainability needs.
Entarctic maximizes energy efficiency in cold warehouses by reducing the electricity bills of cold storage facilities by up to 30% while ensuring safe temperatures. Its solution is quick-to-install and instantly makes customers’ cold room more energy efficient and sustainable. It is installed with no disruptions to operations and delivered on a pay-as-you-save or buy-and-own model.
GetSolar is a digital-first solar company in Singapore and is one of the first in the region to provide zero upfront cost, rooftop solar-as-a-service for smaller commercial and residential property owners. Customers now have a way to get instant solar savings without putting any money down, and in a risk-free approach.
Carbon Compass is decarbonising the mining sector by aggregating energy-related data from mid-tier mine sites to accelerate their deployment of renewables. Carbon Compass’s digital solution creates different simulations of renewable energy assets to help miners optimise their energy stack with different configurations of renewables.
TablePointer is an energy management-as-a-service for food and beverage outlets. Decentralized facilities like food and beverage outlets in Asia use 4X more energy per sqm versus office buildings and profit margins are hit by over 15% from energy wastages. TablePointer’s intelligent energy and asset manager helps decentralized facilities optimize energy efficiency, monitor assets and upgrade profitability.
BillionBricks is developing solar housing communities by combining effective technologies for solar houses with renewable energy models. BillionBricks’ innovative design makes it possible to build net-zero homes to foster homebuyer inclusiveness and reduce the carbon emission of the built industry. Projects are being deployed now in the Philippines to create net zero communities.