€1.2m · Other round · AI · Munich, Germany
Celsio, a Munich company building software and electricity-market services for industrial process heat, has raised €1.2m in pre-seed funding. Caesar Ventures led the round, with CDTM.vc and energy-sector angels including Arved von Harpe, Tobias Assmann and Philip Mayrhofer participating. Munich Startup reporting, reposted by Celsio, says the capital will help move pilot installations into commercial operation, roll out the trading software and expand the team.
Using electricity-market volatility to cut heat costs
Industrial steam and process heat have to be available when production needs them, even when electricity prices are unattractive. Celsio's model is to add flexibility around that constraint. The company says it can combine existing gas or combined-heat-and-power equipment with electric boilers and, where useful, thermal storage. Its control layer then chooses between those assets and participates in day-ahead, intraday and balancing markets.
That makes the product more than a dashboard for energy managers. Celsio positions itself as the electricity supplier for the electric heat load, handling procurement, market access and real-time operation. A factory can therefore electrify part of its heat supply without replacing every existing asset at once. When power is cheap, the electric boiler can run; when prices rise, the site can fall back on other heat sources or draw from storage.
The commercial mechanism depends on turning flexibility into both avoided fuel cost and market revenue. Celsio currently claims that its approach can reduce annual heat costs by 20–30% against gas-only operation, with payback of less than four years for self-financed projects. Those are company estimates, not independently verified customer results. The funding therefore has a clear proof point: moving pilots into commercial service must demonstrate that the software can maintain reliable heat delivery while producing repeatable savings across different plant configurations and price conditions.
From a TUM energy-management project to operating deployments
Celsio's roots are in the Technical University of Munich ecosystem. TUM identifies Tim Engelmann and Stefan Jokiel as the company's contacts and describes an earlier model centred on AI-driven trading and real-time asset control for steam systems. The company has also received EXIST and AI+Munich support, while the German Federal Environmental Foundation lists a €125,000 project grant running from April 2026 to April 2028.
That history helps fund the technical groundwork, but the venture round shifts the test toward delivery. Each industrial site has its own steam temperatures, grid connection, existing equipment and production schedule. If Celsio can standardise the control and market-access layer while adapting the physical installation with equipment partners, it can scale through repeatable software and energy services rather than owning every heat asset itself.
