Dive Brief:

• Independent generator and renewable energy developer Invenergy has launched a venture capital fund that to invest in businesses that use technology to make the energy more affordable, reliable and secure.

• Invenergy LLC, the development company, is the anchor investor of the Invenergy Future Fund and in joined by other strategic and financial investors, whose names have not been disclosed. The size of the fund also has not been disclosed.

• The fund’s first investment, made using funds from Invenergy LLC’s balance sheet to get the venture going, is in Aquilon Energy Services, which provides a software platform that brings “operational efficiencies” to the settlement of energy across the spectrum of energy commodities.

Dive Insight:

As a developer, Invenergy known for investing $20 billion in competitive power projects, including a wide swath of renewable energy projects. But the new fund, the company’s first, will not invest in development projects or equipment, but in companies that use technology to improve the operation of energy assets.

It is the “application layer” of the business, says Amy Francetic, senior vice president of new ventures and corporate affairs at Invenergy. Those businesses will provide technologies that specialize in data analytics and cybersecurity, distributed energy resources, operational efficiency, energy storage and new power generation.

The fund’s first investment, in Aquilon, gives the software company $19 million. Invenergy is providing $4 million with the rest coming from Goldman Sachs, Macquarie Group and previous investors.

Aquilon is developing the first cloud-based platform that enables buyers and sellers to automatically settle both physical and financial energy transactions. The platform will allow traders to track, review, and approve transactions as well as identify discrepancies and collaborate with their counterparties to resolve issues.