Delfos, a virtual engineer software designed for renewable energy assets, has secured €6.3 million in a seed funding round led by Contrarian Ventures and Headline. Existing investors DOMO.VC and EDP Ventures also participated in the round. The funds raised will be used to expand Delfos’ presence in Europe, with a focus on forming partnerships with renewable energy asset owners, operations and maintenance providers, and utility companies. Delfos intends to enter the US market in 2025 after gaining traction in Europe and LATAM.
Delfos has developed real-time virtual engineer software powered by artificial intelligence and big data. The software provides owners and managers of renewable energy estates with automated performance and reliability workflow management. It equips them with the necessary information to effectively manage and optimize an asset’s return on investment, performance, and reliability.
Guilherme Studart, CEO of Delfos Energy, emphasized the importance of maximizing the efficiency and reliability of renewable energy assets for a successful green energy transition. Delfos’ technology aims to increase the energy output of each renewable asset, making them more profitable, efficient, and attractive to investors supporting the transition to net-zero emissions.
Delfos’ software platform is offered as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution to B2B customers. It enables utilities companies and renewable energy asset managers to identify potential performance improvements, maintenance issues, downtime risks, and faults in real-time. By leveraging Delfos’ performance and reliability x-ray, issues can be detected within 24 hours, allowing engineers to address any upcoming major component faults up to five months before they cause major downtime events.
The significance of Delfos’ technology is particularly evident for remote renewable energy assets, such as solar farms. Research by KWH Analytics revealed that 92% of EBITDA loss in solar energy production stems from underutilization and underproduction of assets. In contrast, only 1% of lost profits are attributed to unforeseen operating costs. These findings suggest that the key to improving profitability in renewables lies in maximizing asset efficiency and minimizing downtime.
Rokas Peciulaitis, Managing Partner at Contrarian Ventures, highlighted the importance of efficiency, stability, and timely decision-making in the renewable energy sector. He described Delfos’ predictive management platform as a critical software infrastructure layer that ensures asset resilience. Contrarian Ventures believes that Delfos will become the leading product in the market as it scales across Europe and the US.
Many solar, hydro, and wind farm operators across the renewable energy sector are currently underperforming by as much as 10% in energy generation, downtime reduction, and overall site efficiency. Reliability and maintenance issues account for 95% of downtime cases, highlighting the potential for improvement through real-time reliability monitoring.
Romero Rodrigues, Managing Partner at Headline, praised Delfos for combining management and artificial intelligence in the renewable energy sector. As sustainable development is increasingly prioritized worldwide, Rodrigues believes that businesses like Delfos play a vital role in addressing real issues. Headline is particularly excited about Delfos’ potential for international expansion.
Delfos recently established its headquarters in Barcelona, Spain, as part of its expansion into Europe. The company also maintains its LATAM headquarters in Brazil and currently employs 55 people. Delfos plans to hire an additional 12 employees in Spain and throughout Europe within the next six months, establishing the location as its global headquarters.
