By reLi Energy has been selected as the Startup of the Year of Free Electrons 2024, recognised for its innovative approach to revolutionising battery recycling. Co-founded by Laura Laringe and a team of innovators, reLi Energy is transforming waste into valuable, sustainable energy solutions, addressing one of the most critical challenges in the energy sector.
After their success throughout the 8th edition of the program, we caught up with Laura to discuss the company’s journey, the program’s impact on their growth, and what lies ahead. Her insights offer valuable lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs and those seeking to drive change in the industry.
Q1: Congratulations on being named the 2024 Startup of the Year in this year’s program. Can you tell us a little bit about the story behind the startup? How did it all begin?
Laura Laringe: First of all thank you very much.
At reLi Energy, we are currently building software storage for energy storage in order to maximize its efficiency. But, it was not always like this, we were not always a software company.
We have actually started as a hardware company where my team and I met during university. We started working together on a few projects mostly concerning second life batteries. Refurbishing batteries for electric vehicles to be precise. We started working on that and then decided, why not bring it forward and keep working on it as a startup?
Little after, we realised that what we were doing was just a small part of what could be done inside the energy storage sector and that was when we decided to start working on software for the second life batteries in order to maximize its efficiency, especially concerning battery lifetime. So, that was when we started working on reLi’ Energy’s main technology and its main innovation.
As we understood that there were other companies that were interested in the software, we realised that it was our window of opportunity to get the software to expand. We acknowledged that the software could do so much more and without fully realising it, the software became much bigger than the initial idea we were working on. When we founded the company, we started pivoting this idea that then transformed and evolved reLi Energy to become what it is today.
Q2: As a strategic decision, the founders have also decided to move and live in just one place. Is that correct?
Laura Laringe: That’s true!
We met when we were living in Sweden and then, after university, everyone was living in different places. Just to give you an idea, I was living in Sweden, one was living in Germany and the other in the Netherlands, so we had to decide where to relocate so we could actually start everything. We then decided to move to Germany where we were lucky enough to receive enough support and start the company.
Q3: How has your participation in this year’s edition been influencing your development?
Laura Laringe: So, I feel that Free Electrons came at the perfect moment of our evolution. The program went hand in hand with our development and ideas. The utilities helped us a lot in shaping how the product would look like.
We had our basic technology, and a basic prototype, and truth to be said, we still did not have the full solution, so we had to hold the development hand in hand with the feedback from utilities and understand what their problems were. Now that we have a clear idea of how the product is looking, having had the opportunity to get it tested in pilot projects, we can say that we cannot develop it directly with the utilities and really scale the product into batteries that are relatively bigger than what we were working on.
Q4: When it comes to tangible results, it came to our attention that reLi Energy has already managed to secure some pilots with the utilities. Is that correct?
Laura Laringe: That is correct! We have already signed a contract with EDP and we are actively working on finalising a pilot project with Origin and CLP.
Q5: How do you see your solution evolving in the next 3-5 years?
Laura Laringe: Right now, what we are doing is software for maximizing energy storage efficiency, but we do not wish to stop there. We want to expand our product to increase efficiency over other assets. As you are probably aware, energy storage can relate to other renewables. We wish to exploit this possibility and really take that to create a product that is more complete and that can work with other assets to then maximize the efficiency of them altogether.
Q6: What role does sustainability play in your innovation? How are your solutions contributing to a more sustainable future?
Laura Laringe: Sustainability has always been at the core of our mission. Ever since we started, the idea has been to maximize efficiency and lifetime. That is where we excel!
We know how batteries work and degrade over time and that is where our technology comes in. This is where we can help operators to work with batteries in the best way possible and to maximize their lifetime. Our prototypes have demonstrated that we can maximize lifetime up to 35%. This means that we are now being able to both increase customer profits significantly and reduce the amount of resources while ensuring extended lifetime.
For example, batteries are quite carbon-intensive; there are a lot of raw materials there and we need to be careful with the resources that we are using. Hence, maximising the efficiency and lifetime of batteries can actually contribute to the movement toward accelerating green energy transition. By reducing the pressure of resources that we are currently using, we are already contributing to reducing carbon emissions that also happen as a consequence of battery manufacturing.
Q7: What trends or market shifts do you see critical for the future of energy startups, and how is reLi Energy positioned to lead in those areas?
Laura Laringe: While we currently possess the technology to transition to renewable energy and reduce fossil fuel use, technology alone isn’t enough.
At this point, we need to make things work more efficiently and reduce the cost of everything we are currently using. Maximising and improving the efficiency of systems is certainly part of where we currently stand at and I think, part of a big trend in the market as well. We need to understand how to use these resources to their maximum potential so that we can also reduce emissions.
Q8: What is next for reLi Energy after this recognition? What are your priorities for the upcoming year?
Laura Laringe: Now we are focused on starting these grand pilot projects that we got during Free Electrons and, surely that is something that we must give our complete focus to but, with these pilot projects, we also have all this feedback that we got from utilities concerning our technology and how to continue improving it in order to launch it. So, that is certainly an important point of our year’s milestones.
From then forward, we will be concerned about scaling operations and getting the product in the market while fully understanding what kind of market we are penetrating in.
Q9: What advice would you give to other startups entering the energy sector or hoping to participate in Free Electrons’ next edition?
Laura Laringe: Free Electrons is a great opportunity to get feedback from some of the utilities. Considering that energy utilities are the ideal customer for most startups in the market, that really makes Free Electrons the perfect opportunity to get feedback and to really understand what the current problems in the market are.
One piece of advice from me is to ask as many questions as possible to utilities, understand their pain points, and also understand how your technologies can be brought into development and contribute to the prerogative development of the startup.
Reflecting on reLi Energy’s Journey
reLi Energy’s journey through the Free Electrons program exemplifies how innovation, perseverance, and the right support can transform bold ideas into impactful solutions. From its origins as a hardware startup working on second-life batteries to developing cutting-edge software for maximizing energy storage efficiency, reLi Energy has consistently evolved in response to the challenges and opportunities it encountered.
Thanks to the opportunities in the program, the team was provided with invaluable feedback from utilities, enabling them to refine their product, secure pilot projects, and build their position in the energy sector. Laura Laringe’s reflections serve as a reminder that collaboration with industry leaders, a deep understanding of market needs, and an unwavering commitment to sustainability are powerful drivers for success.
For startups with the vision to lead the energy transition, reLi Energy’s experience underscores the immense value of participating in the program. Applications to the 9th edition of Free Electrons are now open, offering ambitious innovators the chance to gain insights, build partnerships, and scale their solutions with some of the world’s top utilities. Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of this transformative program. Find out more and apply at the Free Electrons!
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