Odyssey raises $74M for energy platform

Odyssey Energy Solutions has raised $74 million to expand its distributed energy platform. The U.S.-based company announced the funding today, which will support its work streamlining financing for renewable projects in emerging markets.

The funding round includes $27 million in equity from investors like Broadscale Group, FMO, and Al Mada Ventures. It also includes $47 million in debt from the British International Investment and Belgium's BIO development finance institution. This new capital comes roughly three and a half years after the company's $15 million Series A round in March 2023.

Odyssey's platform connects over 6,000 solar installers and engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firms with financiers and equipment suppliers. Co-founder and CEO Emily McAteer told Latitude Media the goal is to make building thousands of small energy projects as efficient as possible. On the platform, an installer can secure post-construction financing, such as a power purchase agreement (PPA), from development finance institutions, international banks, and regional lenders.

Procurement and embedded credit

The company also aggregates equipment orders from installers to meet manufacturer minimums and negotiate better pricing. Installers can then buy the equipment from Odyssey with a small deposit and extended payment terms.

"You buy from us and we embed credit directly in that order, so you're solving your working capital and your procurement challenges in one swift transaction," McAteer said. Odyssey charges fees on supplied equipment rather than interest and retains ownership until full payment. This allows it to reclaim and redeploy equipment if a project fails. So far, the company says it has helped unlock 1.5 gigawatts of distributed energy projects.

A pivotal moment for distributed energy

The new funding arrives during a major expansion phase for distributed energy in emerging markets. "Deployment is massively growing, because you've got accelerating energy demand that has already outstripped the power grid supply," McAteer explained.

She pointed to countries like Nigeria and India, two of Odyssey's largest markets, which have historically relied on diesel generators due to grid shortcomings. The spike in diesel prices, linked by McAteer to the Iran war and the ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has made that fuel economically untenable. Consequently, increasingly cheap solar and storage has become more attractive.

"The crisis has highlighted the challenge of reliance on fossil fuel imports." she said.

Core infrastructure versus nice-to-have

McAteer emphasized that in emerging markets, distributed energy is "core energy infrastructure." She contrasted this with the U.S., where such resources often supplement an already functional grid. "It's basically a critical path infrastructure versus a nice-to-have," she noted.

She suggested the dynamic might be changing in the U.S., where urgent increases in energy demand now risk outstripping supply. "Sometimes we joke that the U.S." McAteer said.