In the midst of a rapidly changing energy sector, Future Energy Ventures (FEV) has announced a remarkable achievement: the closing of their second fund at €205 million. As a founder with years of experience bootstrapping my startups, it’s hard not to reflect on what this significant milestone means for female entrepreneurs and Europe’s wider energy tech startup scene. Securing this scale of financing is not merely about the numbers, it’s about the immense potential to reshape the future of how we generate, store, and use energy.
What You Need to Know About FEV’s €205M Fund
This announcement is major for energy-focused technology entrepreneurs. FEV has cemented its name as Europe’s largest venture capital advisor in this burgeoning sector. The focus? Digital-first, asset-light energy technologies, along with a €30 million side fund dedicated exclusively to Italy. With investors like the European Investment Fund and energy giant E.ON SE in its corner, this fund's aspirations to accelerate decarbonization efforts in Europe and beyond feel real and achievable.
My own passions lie in building solutions that empower female founders to dive into tech, and even from outside the energy sector, the lessons here apply universally. What’s even more exciting is to see a fund boldly committed to scaling Series A and B stage startups, typically the most difficult phase for bootstrapped entrepreneurs.
Let’s break down why this matters and what entrepreneurs at any stage can learn from this.
Top Insights Every Female Entrepreneur Can Take From This News
1. The Energy Tech Demand Is Evident
There’s an unstoppable shift towards renewables and sustainable practices. European governments, customers, and businesses are prioritizing energy independence and greener solutions. Investors like FEV are searching for technologies that drive grid efficiency, enable flexible demand, and improve energy storage. Start thinking about how your skills can align with these trends. Cross-industry initiatives, where, for example, AI and energy intersect, are in sharp focus for funds like this.
Tip: Use your diverse background as a founder to think differently and tackle problems uniquely, drawing on insights from more than one discipline. This sets you apart in competitive industries and yields solutions traditional pathways may miss.
2. Agility Can Be an Advantage
I’ve often encountered bottlenecks in my startups, especially as a bootstrapper. The energy tech landscape poses similar challenges, like long customer cycles and legacy systems that resist change. FEV tackles this by specifically investing in founders who can quickly maneuver around obstacles and find creative scaling opportunities.
Lesson: Instead of fearing those bottlenecks, use them to sharpen your strategy. Focus on what you can control, your marketing, your network, and the value of your product or service.
3. Investors Love Late Seed to Series B Opportunities
FEV prefers to invest when startups are moving between early success and sustained scalability. As women in the entrepreneurial world, this is often the gap that feels hardest to cross. Having a strong product-market fit, hitting revenue milestones, and maintaining solid financials light up investor interest, particularly from those looking to scale businesses quickly.
Common mistake alert: Rushing to secure funding too early. Investors like FEV often expect to see proof points, traction and customer validation are key.
4. Portfolio Inspiration
FEV has backed companies building advanced AI solutions for the energy transition. Names like Chloris Geospatial and Enspired reflect the diversity of opportunities out there. While the focus might be energy tech, these companies fuse AI, automation, software design, and more into winning brands.
Consider this: Think about how your expertise intersects with emerging fields. My own journey into gamepreneurship brings together neuroscience, linguistics, and tech. It's not about fitting into an existing mold, it’s about creating one.
5. Europe’s Unique Role
The investment landscape in Europe is shifting. Pension funds are entering the VC game, governments are pushing for energy sovereignty, and female entrepreneurs are gaining notice for tackling tough problems. Just last year, I witnessed an exciting leap, the shift towards funding impact-driven, sustainable businesses run by underrepresented founders.
Encouragement: Europe is taking bigger risks in VC funding, which means opportunities for newcomers like you and me. If you’re building something impactful, there could be untapped backers willing to join your journey.
How Female Founders Can Position Themselves for Funds Like FEV
-
Leverage Unconventional Expertise
The energy sector thrives at the crossroads of disciplines. Don’t hesitate to bring your unique skills. Whether it’s AI, linguistics, or design like in my startups, bringing fresh energy to the table matters. -
Know Your Numbers
Whether you’re preparing for Seed funding or Series B, make your financial story clear and compelling. FEV likes startups with €1-2M in annual revenue, study your target market and get those metrics ready. -
Collaborate Across Borders
FEV’s Italian fund reflects a growing appetite for regional specificity. Partnerships, especially across Europe, will open doors you didn’t even know existed. -
Keep Iterating
Every product, pitch, or deck iteration is a chance to sharpen your edge. This advice has anchored me throughout my entrepreneurial journey, and even helped my team land an OECD selection amongst 12 global startups.
Lessons Learned and Pitfalls to Avoid
Pitfall: Underestimating the Right Stage to Secure Funding
Some founders aim for funding prematurely, only to find that their idea lacks clarity and traction. Flip this approach. Make sure your product resonates with its audience before approaching investors.
Pitfall: Ignoring the Mentor Layer
Funds like FEV don’t just provide capital; they often open doors to invaluable mentorship. Don’t make the mistake of thinking money solves everything; stay curious and ask questions.
Lesson: The Importance of Cohesion
From 20 years of experience, one thing has stood out: clear communication cultivates trust. Whether it’s negotiating with partners or gathering team input, articulate goals and approaches logically and transparently. Investors value this immensely.
Why This Should Matter to You
This isn’t only about energy innovation. It’s about how a well-organized fund like FEV is setting an example for what funding in challenging sectors can achieve. As female entrepreneurs, how we position ourselves, understand market shifts, and navigate opportunities like this can define our startups’ success.
To learn more about Future Energy Ventures' portfolio and the companies they support, check out their official website.
FAQ
1. What is Future Energy Ventures (FEV) and what is its focus?
Future Energy Ventures (FEV) is Europe’s largest venture capital advisor focused exclusively on digital-first, asset-light energy technologies. It aims to drive decarbonization and support innovations in energy storage, grid efficiency, and renewable energy transitions. Learn more about Future Energy Ventures
2. How much did FEV raise in its recent funding round?
Future Energy Ventures announced the closing of its Fund II, raising €205 million, plus an additional €30 million Italy-based side fund. This marks FEV as the largest energy-tech-focused VC advisor in Europe. See details on FEV’s €205M fund
3. What sectors and technologies does FEV invest in?
FEV invests in sectors including AI-driven smart grids, energy storage optimization, energy demand flexibility, and software-driven clean energy technologies. Their investments aim to accelerate the energy transition with advanced and scalable digital solutions. Discover FEV’s focus areas
4. Who are the key investors supporting FEV’s second fund?
FEV's Fund II is supported by major investors like E.ON SE and the European Investment Fund (EIF). Other contributing partners include KFW Capital, CDP, and Zorlu Holding. Learn about Fund II backers
5. What stages of startups does FEV usually invest in?
FEV primarily focuses on late Seed, Series A, and Series B stage startups. They are particularly interested in companies with €1–2 million in annual revenue at an inflection point ready for scaling. Why FEV focuses on Series A and B
6. What is the significance of the €30M dedicated Italy fund?
The €30M Italy-focused fund is designed to support the growing energy innovation ecosystem in Italy. This move reflects the demand for region-specific energy investments and Italy’s policy reforms encouraging local clean tech initiatives. Understand the Italian fund’s purpose
7. How does FEV help startups in the energy sector overcome scaling challenges?
FEV helps startups overcome long cycles and market resistance in the energy sector by supporting them through the crucial scaling phase and connecting them with strategic partners. Explore how FEV supports energy startups
8. What are some notable startups in FEV’s portfolio?
FEV has invested in companies like Chloris Geospatial, Enspired, Feld Energy, and EV.energy. These companies focus on AI-driven energy solutions, including grid optimization, energy storage, and electric vehicle energy management. Learn about FEV portfolio companies
9. How does FEV align itself with Europe’s decarbonization goals?
By investing in innovative clean tech and scalable digital energy solutions, FEV is contributing significantly to Europe’s goals of energy independence, decarbonization, and renewable resource utilization. Find out how FEV supports decarbonization
10. What makes Europe a key player in the global energy transition?
Europe's strong innovation ecosystem, industrial capacity, and policies favoring renewable energy and decarbonization position it as a leader in the global energy transition. See why Europe is leading
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 5,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
- 1,000 unique business ideas for women created
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.
