Seattle-based Powerit Solutions, a maker of energy management and energy efficiency technology for commercial and industrial facilities, announced today it has raised $6 million in new funding. The round was led by new investors Siemens Venture Capital and ArcelorMittal’s Clean Technology Fund, and included existing investors @Ventures and Expansion Capital Partners.
Powerit (pronounced “Power I.T.”) says the funds will be used to speed up its growth into industrial markets, as well as solidify its position in energy management and expand product development and sales efforts. The company makes a comprehensive hardware and software system (including wireless sensors) that monitors facilities’ power usage, predicts the timing and severity of energy demand peaks, and automatically reduces the energy load where possible, to provide savings on utility bills.
Energy efficiency for businesses is a big deal these days. Claes Olsson, the chief executive of Powerit, touted in a statement “the impact our Spara technology can have on the way that commercial and industrial facility operators will address power and data management.” He added that his investors “continue to be excited by Powerit’s performance and market strength.” (ArcelorMittal is the world’s biggest steel company, so that would seem to bode well for the prospects of Powerit being used in new construction facilities.)
Powerit was formed here in 2002, but its original technology dates back to engineers at Sweden’s Lund University in 1994. The company’s first customers were in Scandinavia. Much more recently, in 2008, Powerit’s U.S. and European operations officially merged to create one company, with technology installed in more than 2,500 sites worldwide. Its customers include Ikea, Paul Masson Winery, Benton Foundry, Stockholm Airport, and the San Jose Mercury News.
