Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore – August 2024: Clime Capital, the Singapore-based fund manager focused on accelerating the low carbon transition, today announced that it has invested in VEEP, a Ho Chi Minh City-based smart Lighting-as-a-Service (LaaS) provider.
VEEP focuses on delivering energy savings for customers from the public and commercial and industrial (C&I) sectors in Southeast Asia. Leveraging the Energy Efficiency-as-a-Service model, VEEP provides Internet of Things (IoT) based lighting solutions through lighting infrastructure upgrades or installation projects. This model aims to enable energy-efficient and cost-effective operations for its customers, ultimately promoting the adoption of energy-efficiency solutions.
Lighting has been estimated to account for 25.3% of Vietnam’s electricity consumption against a global average of up to 15%, largely due to the prevalence of legacy technologies such as incandescent, fluorescent, and sodium. Through its previous retrofit projects, VEEP has enabled its customers to reduce their energy consumption from lighting by 62-68%, with the potential to realize savings of 70-75% from the more proactive implementation of its smart lighting solution.
The Clime Capital investment is expected to enable VEEP to transition from providing lighting projects on a turnkey basis to refocusing on its zero upfront cost lighting-as-a-service (LaaS) model. By reducing initial cost barriers, VEEP plans to enable its customers to make fixed periodic payments for IoT-based lighting solutions delivered on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) basis, easing the financial constraints associated with installing/upgrading lighting infrastructure and helping customers achieve long-term cost and energy savings.
Viet Nguyen, Founder & CEO at VEEP, said, “Vietnam’s demand for power is growing at a pace that creates a challenge for existing infrastructure. VEEP’s sophisticated use of artificial intelligence and LED technologies can deliver significant energy efficiency benefits, including lower electricity costs and reduced emissions while reducing the burden on the country’s grid.”
Joshua Kramer, Chief Investment Officer at Clime Capital, said, “Clime Capital regards VEEP’s smart LaaS model as a promising solution to companies’ need for greater energy efficiency through advanced technologies in both developing and developed countries. As demand for energy increases, so does the requirement to seek efficiencies to keep costs and emissions down.”
Mason Wallick, Chief Executive Officer at Clime Capital, said, “We are delighted to provide funding for VEEP at this critical juncture to become the first mover for LaaS contracting in Vietnam. The success of VEEP’s LaaS offering could help advance energy efficiency in Vietnam and establish a viable EE-as-service model that could deliver meaningful carbon emission reductions.”