Founded in 2011, Berlin-based Changers Systems closed $1.5 million in Series A financing on Jan. 28, with BFB Frühphasenfonds Brandenburg GmbH leading the round, and participation from Heliocentris Energy Solutions AG and additional private investors.
The Changers System lets you charge your mobile devices with your own renewable energy, and then convert that energy into a currency.
Changers users produce solar energy for their mobile devices using a small solar panel that delivers energy to a special charger. This charger stores not only the energy itself, but also the data about the energy production (amount, date, time) and the associated CO2 savings.
The data about your energy production and CO2 savings can then be uploaded to an online community: Changers.com. There, users are rewarded with 1 Changers Credit for each watt-hour of green energy produced and 0.5g of CO2 saved. They can redeem their Credits on the marketplace and get discounts on products and services from Changers partners.
The funding from Frühphasenfonds Brandenburg (a government-backed German development fund that focuses on early-stage companies located in the state of Brandenburg) and the strategic collaboration of industry partner Heliocentris (a specialist in clean energy and energy-efficiency solutions) enables Changers to accelerate its product development plans, strengthen its presence in the growing ‘connected home’ industry, and take advantage of consumers’ rising interest in energy independence and sustainability.
To read the press release, click here