Energytechs, startups focused on innovative solutions for the energy sector, are transforming the Brazilian electricity sector. These companies, in addition to challenging the status quo in the retail market, are also gaining attention for their growing offer of products and services for other small and medium-sized companies and for traditional companies in the sector, offering innovations such as intelligent asset monitoring and failure prevention or predictive maintenance.

A recent mapping by the consultancy firm Liga Ventures revealed that there are currently 252 energy techs in Brazil. The sector has a wide range of business segments, mainly focused on the B2B market, which represents 60% of the target audience of these companies. The scope of energy efficiency leads with 20% of startups, followed by shared generation (15%), data analytics (12%), sustainability (12%, which accounted for 24% of energy techs founded in the last four years) and consumption management (10%). These numbers reflect the multiple opportunities and show how dynamic the Brazilian energy sector is.

Collaboration: the key to the future
The relationship between energytechs and established companies in the electricity sector is proving to be mutually beneficial. Large corporations access cutting-edge technologies and innovative business models through collaborations in technological development, field tests, supply contracts, corporate venture capital vehicles, and mergers and acquisitions strategies, while startups benefit from the scale and market experience of their larger partners.

Neoenergia, which is among the leaders in the Brazilian electric energy sector, has been one of the pioneers in this collaborative approach. Through an open innovation strategy, the company has established strategic partnerships with several startups, driving the digital transformation of the sector. One of his cases is with Sinapsis Energia, a spin-off of the University of São Paulo (USP), which commercially licensed GODEL Perdas and GODEL Conecta, industrial properties developed and protected by Neoenergia through its Research, Development and Innovation Program (PDI) regulated by the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL). These products are aimed, respectively, at mapping energy losses and evaluating the capacity to accommodate distributed generation in the distribution network.

Challenges and opportunities
Despite the obvious benefits, the integration between startups and large companies is not always easy. Cultural differences, bureaucratic processes, and resistance to change can create obstacles. Still, companies that overcome these barriers reap significant rewards. At Neoenergia, we map some of the challenges faced in Brazil for the birth and development of startups, especially in the energy market. We realized that cultural differences and corporate processes that are misaligned with the reality of startups are major limitations.

Regulation and the cost for structuring energy techs also play crucial roles. The sector has a high level of regulation, in order to guarantee reliability in the electricity supply at fair prices and to protect different interests. But this characteristic, added to the high cost of infrastructure that many energy techs depend on, may discourage entrepreneurs from structuring businesses in this market. However, ANEEL has been working to create an environment more conducive to innovation, and recently revised the regulations of its PDI Program, increasing the incentive for startups to interact with corporations.

The future is collaborative
As the electricity sector faces challenges such as the transition to clean energy and the modernization of infrastructure, collaboration with energytechs becomes not only advantageous, but essential. Companies that have this vision will be more strategically positioned to lead the energy transition.
The synergy between consolidated knowledge and new ideas tends to pave the way for a more intelligent, efficient, sustainable and just energy future. With the multiplication of these collaborative journeys, Brazil is positioned at the forefront of global energy innovation, with the potential to not only meet domestic demands, but also export solutions to global energy challenges.