The Austrian Startup Podero has launched software to enable utilities to roll out new residential services through the operating and trade solutions of the home energy device.
PODO, an Austrian software company, offers utilities the possibility to send residential solaries, batteries, air conditioners and heat pump use, together with other home systems, and to walk the aggregated device taxes.
“The majority of our customers are involved in generating solar energy. Our platform is fundamentally built to enable users to maximize the value of their energy activa, making it a natural fit for anyone with a PV system.” Chris Bernkopf, CEO of PODO and co-founder, said PV Magazine.
The company sells its software as a service (SaaS) directly to energy companies. There are two service levels. One of these is Podero Instant, a ready-to-launch white label integration for Home Energy Systems Management with integrations of dozens of brand devices, including heat pumps, chargers (EV) chargers, batteries, air conditioners, smart thermostats and solar artists.
The plant and controls PV production with self-consumption or flexible rates, without requiring extra hardware installation, according to the company.
Homeowners can be stimulated with rewards or savings because they are flexible with the use of their devices. More than 54 devices from original equipment (OEM) manufacturers are integrated, such as Vaillant, Viessmann, Huawei, Nibe, Fronius and many others who do business on the European market.
The decisions about which equipment from manufacturers are opportunities to integrate opportunities, according to Louis Jabbour, head of partnerships, who noticed that “ Add to that “the integration route map is influenced by the needs” of its customers. “We build proactive relationships with important manufacturers of original equipment (OEM) at industry events and via Direct Outreach,” Jabbour said PV -Magazine.
The other Podero product is the fully integrated trading package with prediction support, making the trade of aggregated device flexibility on important electricity markets possible, including Spot Day-Ahead, Intra-Day and Balancing Energy Markets.
According to the company, it is connected to enable trade through safe, standards-compatible application programming interfaces (API).
Podero has demonstrated the benefits of the software with various partners, including E.ON Sweden, which rolled out a smart heating service with a smartphone app with a brand for customers. The project started with Podero Instant for a soft launch and scaled into a full trade integration in a virtual power plant.
Another partner in Austria, Oekostrom AG, used Podero’s software to launch his Smartsparen-automated smart tariff product that brings spot market optimization directly to households.
Podero products offer solutions for current issues, such as solar energy-related limitation, volatility of the electricity price and rising imbalance fines. It notes that various other drivers, such as increased technological competition from startups and new competitors in the first digital first, the need to decipher during financing modernization projects and limited internal sources to quickly roll out flexible products for end customers.
Founded in 2022 and with headquarters in Austria, the company is active in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Austria, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland, Romania, Latvia, Lithouia and the Czech Republic.
At the beginning of 2025 it raised € 5.5 million ($ 6.4 million) in a seed round led by established investors at an early stage.
Podero sees potential growth beyond the living segment. “At the moment, the residential market is the primary engine of demand for our solution. We actively explore the commercial solar space and are very enthusiastic about the opportunities it offers,” Bernkopf said.
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