Yottar: Unlock Hidden Electrical Grid Capacity for Energy Users
▼ Summary
– Global power demand is surging due to AI and EVs, straining electrical grids.
– Yottar maps grid capacity to help companies locate sites for power-intensive equipment like data centers and EV chargers.
– The startup differentiates itself by creating detailed capacity maps rather than disputing existing utility claims.
– Yottar’s customers include Tesla and the UK’s National Health Service, who use its platform for site selection and upgrades.
– The company recently raised $1 million in pre-seed funding and plans to expand internationally, including to the US.
The world’s appetite for electricity is surging, driven by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and large-scale digital infrastructure. This unprecedented demand is placing immense strain on aging electrical grids, creating bottlenecks that threaten to slow down innovation and decarbonization efforts. Companies seeking to deploy energy-intensive facilities often face long delays and uncertain timelines due to outdated grid capacity data.
Yottar has emerged as a key player addressing this challenge. The startup specializes in mapping available electrical grid capacity, enabling businesses to identify optimal locations for new data centers, EV charging hubs, and other high-power installations. According to Peter Clutton-Brock, Yottar’s co-founder and CEO, the collision between the electrification super cycle and the AI data center boom has created a critical need for smarter grid intelligence.
In regions like London, available capacity for major projects has already been exhausted. The pressing question is no longer whether spare capacity exists, but when necessary upgrades will be completed. While some firms focus on identifying underutilized existing capacity, Yottar takes a more forward-looking approach. The company produces detailed, location-specific maps that illustrate precisely where power is accessible and in what quantities.
Yottar primarily serves what it calls medium-sized demand developers, organizations that consume rather than generate electricity. These clients typically require between one and five megawatts for projects ranging from EV charging networks to medical imaging facilities. Among its notable customers are Tesla and the U.K.’s National Health Service. Tesla uses Yottar’s software to site and upgrade Supercharger stations, while the NHS relies on the platform to determine which hospitals and clinics can support new EV chargers, solar arrays, batteries, or radiology units.
The company recently secured $1 million in pre-seed funding led by Haatch, with participation from Cape Capital and several angel investors. It is also introducing a new feature designed to help companies quickly assess which sites can handle upgrades or new connections.
Yottar sources much of its data directly from distribution networks, which are mandated to share capacity information. It also licenses non-public data and continuously refines its models using anonymized connection data from customer projects. Pricing is based on a per-seat subscription and a usage fee tied to the number of sites evaluated.
Currently, Yottar operates exclusively in the U.K., but the company has plans to expand into the U.S. and other international markets. As Clutton-Brock notes, grid capacity constraints are a global issue, one that demands a scalable, data-driven solution.
(Source: TechCrunch)