This Munich Startup Just Raised $4M to Slash Industrial Power Bills

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-11

### The Funding Round That Could Change Industrial Energy Furo, a Munich-based energy software company formerly known as Lumera Energy, just closed a €3.44 million ($4 million) funding round. The goal? To make industrial battery storage economically viable. The round was led by US investor TQ Ventures, with participation from Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners (yes, that's Sheryl Sandberg's fund), Neo, and CDTM Venture Capital. If you're in the energy or startup world, you know that's a serious vote of confidence. But what's really interesting is what Furo is actually building. ### The Problem: Batteries Are Dumb (Until They're Not) Here's the thing. Most industrial battery installations operate on rigid, pre-programmed rules. They charge and discharge based on fixed schedules, completely ignoring real-time weather and electricity prices. That's like setting your thermostat to 70°F and never touching it again—even when it's 100°F outside. Furo's software changes that. It forecasts power prices and weather up to 48 hours ahead, then optimises battery operation in real time. When prices spike, it sells. When they dip, it charges. Simple in theory, complex in execution. The company claims this can cut customers' electricity costs by up to 40%. That's not pocket change for energy-intensive industrial firms, especially in Germany where power prices are among the highest in the world. ### Who's Behind Furo? Furo was founded in 2025 by Lena Sophia Voß, Leonie Wagner, and Simon Wittner. The trio met during a joint master's program at the Centre for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) of LMU Munich and the Technical University of Munich. They bring deep technical and operational expertise to one of Europe's most volatile power markets. As Voß puts it: *"Our customers did not buy a battery in order to own a technology, but in order to lower their electricity bill. In one of the most volatile power markets in the world, that is decided by the software, not by the hardware."* That's the key insight. Hardware is commoditised. Software is the differentiator. ### How It Works Furo's platform isn't sold directly to end customers. Instead, it goes through installers, project developers, storage manufacturers, and utilities. The platform adapts to each role—from system sizing through asset operation to marketing free capacity in energy trading. More than 800 companies already use Furo across over 6,000 sites in Germany and Europe. And earlier this month, Furo announced a partnership with Berlin-based LUOX Energy to launch a combined solution for optimising commercial and industrial battery storage systems. The company also rebranded from Lumera Energy in May 2026, signalling a broader ambition. ### Why This Matters for US Readers You might be thinking: why should I care about a German startup? Here's why. Inflexible energy demand costs industrial companies an estimated $580 billion a year worldwide. The cause isn't renewable energy itself—it's price volatility, high grid fees, load peaks, and a lack of flexibility in consumption. Those problems aren't unique to Europe. They're global. As Schuster Tanger, co-founding partner at TQ Ventures, said: *"Lena, Leonie and Simon understand the European energy market at an extraordinary level of depth. It's a remarkable example of team-market fit. Coupled with a global market for storage flexibility set to multiply in the coming years, we see this as one of the greatest opportunities in Europe and beyond."* ### The Bigger Picture Global energy demand from AI data centres is rising sharply. That hits energy-intensive industrial companies hardest. Battery storage provides a solution—storing surplus solar or wind power and releasing it when needed. But the real magic is in the software. Static systems are blind to price fluctuations. Furo's forecasting module prices them in. This funding round will help Furo further develop its software, expand into additional European markets, and grow its team. If the company can prove its model at scale, it could become the operating system for industrial energy flexibility—not just in Europe, but worldwide. And that's a story worth watching.