Powerbrain Focus Gets "Green Fund" and Promotes Energy Efficiency Technology

One of the facts that is still happening in the field today is that there is still a lack of understanding and more effective ways to save energy. In this case, as a platform that focuses on energy efficiency, power brain trying to provide solutions to be able to reduce electricity costs to a lower level, especially in large-scale buildings.

To DailySocial.id, Founder & CEO of Powerbrain, Irvan Farasatha said, if initially they targeted buildings with various scales, now their focus is more on large buildings such as malls, offices, and factories. This is inseparable from revenue obtained in one project if it is able to manage energy efficiency.

Although it is still difficult to promote their services and technology to their target users, the team at Powerbrain is confident that with the concept they offer, they can attract the attention of more building owners to factories to be able to implement special SOPs for energy savings.

"Actually, the market is still skeptical of the response we received, especially the obstacle is the price of electricity in Indonesia, which is cheap compared to countries like Singapore. For that reason Powerbrain then targets large buildings, and we look at the system for cooling not too much right now sophisticated be an opportunity for us," said Irvan.

The potential of the energy sector in Indonesia

Although currently in Indonesia, the implementation has not been echoed too much renewable energy and energy efficiencyHowever, if you look at the trends that have occurred in other countries, in the future there will be more initiatives from startups to other related parties to then contribute to the energy sector.

Currently, there are at least several platforms that focus on renewable energy. Among others are SolarKita, Xurya, Warung Energi, Weston Energy, Forbetric, Erenesia, Khaira Energy, and Syailendra Power. Most work on the potential of solar power.

"We as a platform that focuses on energy efficiency see, although the players are still few but internal rate of return (IRR) is much larger in the case of energy going slightly lower IRR. For renewable energy becomes interesting because it can quickly return capital for investors. That's why in the last two years more and more platforms have focused on this sector," said Irvan.

Asked whether the products and services from Powerbrain and other similar players could interfere with PLN as a government-owned company that provides energy to all levels of society, according to Irvan, although they are interrelated, what they offer does not interfere with PLN's business. Although there is currently no specific regulation for energy efficiency, but reportedly they have received support from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM).

"In Powerbrain we play more in energy efficiency not in renewable energy. Solar panels are one of the things we do, but mostly for efficiency in buildings. For example, the efficiency of air conditioning, heatpump, water heaters, and more. So it does not intersect with PLN directly," said Irvan.

Currently, Powerbrain is able to cut spending at malls, factories and others by 20-30%. In addition to providing consultation, Powerbrain also makes designs to carry out construction to building and other building owners.

"In the beginning we targeted the building small to mediumHowever, because most of the buildings there are no people responsible for carrying out maintenance, the education process then takes a long time, on the other hand the expenses are also small. Now we focus on bigger buildings a month one project, but can get growth significant," said Irvan.

Powerbrain offers a solution smart energy management via IoT devices (including sensors), automation software to maximize energy utilization and save opex costs, as well as web and mobile based applications to monitor and track electricity consumption.

Funding "green funds"

Founded in 2020, this initiative stems from concerns about the issue of global warming. By combining technology and financial solutions through Smart Energy Management, Powerbrain focuses on reaching the energy efficiency business to address the unmet energy management needs of a building in Indonesia.

Due to the high cost involved in undertaking a single project, Powerbrain's current focus is on how they can find partners who can link them to Green Fund funding. According to Irvan, it would be ideal if they were involved in the funding, even though investments from investors such as venture capital is also still the best opportunity.

"Currently in Indonesia there are several institutions that offer funding for the concept, but not many of them are willing to provide large amounts of funding. Most of them are also not too mature in terms of understanding, compared to institutions abroad," said Irvan.

Because there are still not many investors who are looking at the sector renewable energy and energy efficiency like Powerbrain, as an entity, it would be more ideal if in the future it could get funding from institutions or impact funds to green funds from abroad.

In June this year Powerbrain has bagged early stage funding from the Achmad Zaky Foundation (AZF). It is not stated how much funding was disbursed, but this is the first step for a non-profit organization founded by Bukalapak Co-Founder Achmad Zaky to invest in the impact sector.

In the future, according to Irvan, there will be more startups playing in this sector. Not only in renewable energy, but also other services and products such as the provision of batteries for small to large scale. On the other hand electric vehicle (EV) will also attract more and more attention from local and foreign technology developments. And as a company, Powerbrain is also interested in presenting charging station for electric motors.

"In the future we are preparing not only energy efficiency but energy transition, combining for mobile devices to report the towards energy in terms of automation. Currently our focus is energy efficiency, in the future electric vehicle but more charging station. but still in the planning stage," said Irvan.