The archive · Climate & Energy · Strategic decision · 2021–2026
1KOMMA5° bets Germany's 2024 heating law turns homes electric: €400M raised, unicorn
Hamburg startup 1KOMMA5° rode the GEG heating law into Germany's home-electrification boom: 10,000+ heat pumps, ~€400M equity, profitable.
1KOMMA5°
What the business is
1KOMMA5° is a one-stop shop for home electrification — photovoltaic systems, batteries, heat pumps and EV chargers — tied together by its Heartbeat AI energy-management software.
How it started
Philipp Schröder and Jannik Schall founded 1KOMMA5° in Hamburg in 2021, betting that homes would electrify en masse. The catalyst came on January 1, 2024, when Germany's amended Building Energy Act (GEG) made 65% renewable energy binding for new heating systems in new development areas, with phase-ins for existing buildings — turning heat pumps into the regulatory default.
What happened
Growth followed the mandate: 1KOMMA5° sold over 10,000 heat pumps in Germany from the start of 2024, nearly quadrupled German installations in 2025, and passed 300,000 controllable systems worldwide. It raised almost €400M in equity, including a €150M pre-IPO round closed in December 2024 and extended in July 2025, while staying profitable in its core hardware business through a European solar-and-heat-pump downturn.
How it ended up
Still scaling: a debt-free CleanTech unicorn with ~2,500 employees, 120,000+ customers in seven markets, and a virtual power plant (Heartbeat AI) controlling over 500 MW of flexible capacity, heading toward an IPO.
Background
1KOMMA5° was founded in Hamburg in 2021 by Philipp Schröder and Jannik Schall on a simple bet: the German home would become an electrified machine — solar on the roof, a battery in the cellar, a heat pump and EV charger in between — and homeowners would rather buy it all from one shop than assemble it themselves.
The regulatory catalyst arrived on January 1, 2024, when Germany's amended Building Energy Act (GEG) required new heating systems in new development areas to run on at least 65% renewable energy, with obligations for existing buildings phased in later. Heat pumps, which the law explicitly accepts as a compliant technology, went from niche to default.
1KOMMA5° grew with the mandate: over 10,000 heat pumps sold in Germany since early 2024, German installations nearly quadrupling in 2025 and global sales more than doubling. By July 2025 it had raised almost €400 million in equity — including a €150 million pre-IPO round extended with Sabanci Climate Ventures — and remained profitable in its core hardware business.
The deeper bet is Heartbeat AI, software that turns customer systems into a virtual power plant (over 500 MW of flexibility, described as Europe's largest residential VPP) and buys and sells electricity on homeowners' behalf. The stated ambition is to become 'the last energy company consumers ever subscribe to', replacing utilities rather than just selling hardware.
What has to be true
- A binding regulation (GEG 2024) created structural demand for heat pumps just as 1KOMMA5° had built a one-stop installation network.
- Owning installation plus software (Heartbeat AI) gave it a defensible moat: hardware margins today, a virtual power plant that benefits from every additional system tomorrow.
- It raised ~€400M of equity while staying profitable in hardware, letting it out-invest rivals in a European market that shrank for everyone else.
- The regulatory tailwind is durable — GEG phases in obligations for existing buildings through 2026–2028, extending demand beyond the initial mandate.
What can be applied
When a regulation forces a market shift, the winner removes the complexity of complying: owning installation plus software turned a legal mandate into a long-term customer relationship.
Aftermath
As of January 2026, 1KOMMA5° is a debt-free CleanTech unicorn with ~2,500 employees, 120,000+ customers and 80 locations in seven markets. It sold 10,000+ heat pumps in Germany since early 2024 and nearly quadrupled German installations in 2025. Heartbeat AI optimizes 50,000+ systems and controls over 500 MW of flexible capacity, with €100M+ planned software investment through 2027 and a 2030 target of 1.5 million buildings converted. Management flags GEG subsidy uncertainty and the German recession as risks, but expects demand to rise as grid fees and CO2 pricing lift fossil-heating costs.
Sources
- 1KOMMA5° extends pre-IPO round
- 1KOMMA5° extends pre-IPO round
- Demand for heat pumps continues to rise: 1KOMMA5° reaches the 10,000 mark
- GEG 2024: Many new obligations, not just for heating systems
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