How EFSI benefits SMEs in Europe - Swedbank case study: Energus (Lithuania), energy

“We need to take care of our planet as much as we take care of our children, because the health of our children depends on how we consume this planet,” says Povilas Sidlauskas, founder and CEO of Energus.

In 2011, when Lithuania’s nuclear power plant began the process of de-commissioning, and the supply of electricity dropped, prices went up dramatically. “This was the perfect time to present the Lithuanian market with intelligent energy solutions that are cheap, safe and environmentally friendly,” says Povilas. Energus, the company he set up, provides intelligent energy efficiency services for large buildings, like shopping centres or supermarkets, covering the entire spectrum of activity, “from idea to results”. Energus will offer consulting services, design and install energy management systems and offer support services to ensure optimal results as well.

“We love our company and we love what we do because we are able to contribute to nature whilst helping other businesses make money,” adds Povilas. “At the end of the day, it’s all about having an impact on society, learning how to reduce our consumption of energy and make it more efficient.”

“We are an ambitious and young team, (average age: 32) and we don’t give up easily. We know what our goal is – to become the leading company in energy efficiency in Lithuania and export our technology abroad,” explains Povilas. Energus is currently active mainly in Lithuania, but also Belarus and has recently started to work in Latvia and Sweden too.

As the company has grown from 5 persons in 2011 to 120 in 2018, Energus has had to rely on financing solutions in order to support this growth. “With more large projects in the pipeline, we need to build up our inventory. For example, we need to buy lots of material, like cables, then install them and manage the system. This creates pressure on our cashflow,” Povilas explains. In order to finance this scale-up operation, Energus received an EU-guaranteed loan from Swedbank, backed by the EIF under the EU’s Investment Plan for Europe. “Since we started to work with Swedbank, we’ve grown from about 60 to 120 employees.”

Looking ahead, Energus commitment to energy efficiency is expanding, as the company branches out into adjacent fields, working most recently on new projects like the development of smart lithium-ion batteries, and improving the recycling process by developing automated technological devices that recognise and separate the different waste according to their shape and material. “We also want to develop solutions that allow a building to function independently, off the electricity grid.”

Company: Swedbank (Lithuania)

Type of business: Energy

EIF financing:  COSME LGF,  EFSI

Financial intermediary: Energus

For further information about EIF intermediaries in Lithuania please refer to: http://www.eif.org/what_we_do/where/lt