The energy sector is stuck: Our answer is Neo Energy. The concept of a new energy industry — presented by Bradley Mundt, founder and CEO of the greentech start-up PLAN-B NET ZERO.

‍

Problem & inspiration

As GreenTech CEO and digital native, I don't see the energy sector through the lens of decades of tradition, but from a new perspective, free from legacy issues. The energy market in Germany and elsewhere is traditionally conservative. Electricity is a commodity that must be produced and delivered. Even today, people in this sector are often seen not as customers but as meter numbers. But who are these customers really? What moves them, what do they need? The last industry to ask itself these questions converted account numbers into real customer relationships and loss-making transactions into a growth market: Banking — Neo Banking. Companies like Revolut have shown the way: A necessity became a lifestyle. Why shouldn't that also work for energy?

Our solution

With this conviction, I two years ago PLAN-B NET ZERO founded. Together with a team of energy, app and AI specialists, we develop solutions that go beyond what even modern banks offer. We use energy constantly, often even unconsciously, whether for cooking or to charge our mobile phones. But our customers are making a conscious decision: They choose sustainable electricity from renewable sources and accept one to two cents more in return without realizing it in everyday life. Sustainability is an attitude that connects tens of thousands of our customers and makes them a true community. Our approach: Optimizing is good, doing without is pointless.

Technology & growth

Because the more renewables we use, the stronger our system becomes — it is anti-fragile. We are therefore positioning ourselves as a fully integrated green tech company. By the end of 2025, PLAN-B NET ZERO will deliver energy with a volume of €120 million annually (Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)) — not bad for a startup.

At the same time, we are scaling our battery energy storage (BESS) development pipeline to more than one GWh. The energy revolution is ongoing and there is now an oversupply of solar and wind energy. With particularly strong solar radiation and a lot of wind at the same time, too much electricity is available. Of course, it hasn't been hidden from us either that in this case, energy producers pay energy suppliers when they buy electricity. In addition to hardware, we offer AI-based software that automates energy arbitrage: buy cheaply, store — use expensive or sell.

But hardware alone is not enough for us. We want to get closer to our customers and make energy accessible. Until now, there was no reason to look at electricity consumption more than once a year. Our app makes power consumption understandable, transparent and controllable. In combination with storage, our customers even benefit financially from the imbalance of the energy transition. We make energy easier and easier to understand than ever before: with a real flat rate. A fixed amount is enough and the only remaining decision is choosing the community programs in our app.

Outlook

New smart meters can precisely allocate power consumption in every household of our customers. The big data obtained in this way can be used to set behavior-based and predictive marketing activities. This is where the affiliate programs with our partners come into play. In other words, marketing partner products to our community members, i.e. our customers. This opens up completely new sales and earnings opportunities for us. The so-called Neo Banks have successfully implemented this idea. A new category is being created from these components: Neo Energy. It needs sustainable energy. Because no community can be built around coal power. We all want to be part of something bigger than ourselves. The energy revolution can be just that if it is fun and brings benefits.