Circular Energy

Name and Overview

Metric	Value
Name	Circular Energy
Tagline	Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) for commercial and industrial sectors in emerging markets, offering batteries on a long-term lease.
Headquarters	London
Founded	2024
Stage	Pre-Seed
Business Model	Hardware + Software
Industry	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology	Hardware
Geography	Sub-Saharan Africa
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Varun Giridhar
Funding Label	Seed
Total Disclosed	$11.9M

Links

• Website: https://thecircularenergy.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/circular-energy-uk/

What an Investor Needs First

Circular Energy is a pre-seed startup aiming to deploy Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) for commercial and industrial customers in emerging markets, a model that merits investor attention for its attempt to solve a critical infrastructure gap through a capital-light, circular-economy approach [thecircularenergy.com]. The company, founded in 2024, proposes to finance, install, and manage battery storage systems on a long-term lease, eliminating upfront capital expenditure for clients like telecom tower operators who face unreliable grid power and high diesel costs [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief]. Its core product is an opex-based service agreement spanning 7 to 15 years, which includes ongoing monitoring, maintenance, and end-of-life battery refurbishment or repurposing [thecircularenergy.com]. The founding team is led by Varun Giridhar, whose public profile includes technical research in robotics and machine learning [LinkedIn, 2026]. The company has secured approximately $11.9 million in seed funding [PitchBook, 2026]. Over the next 12-18 months, the key indicators to monitor will be the announcement of initial pilot deployments with named customers, the formation of strategic partnerships for battery supply and logistics, and any further clarity on the capitalization and investor syndicate behind its seed round.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core product claims are sourced from the company's website and a research brief; funding figure is from a single database; founder identity is corroborated but background is limited.

Inside the Company

Circular Energy is a London-based venture founded in 2024, positioning itself in the cleantech sector with a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model aimed at commercial and industrial customers in emerging markets [thecircularenergy.com]. The company's public narrative begins with its founding year and a focus on removing upfront capital expenditure for battery storage, framing its service as a long-term operational expense for clients in regions with unreliable grid power [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief].

Varun Giridhar is identified as the founder and managing director across several professional databases [LinkedIn, retrieved 2026] [RocketReach]. The company's key milestones to date are limited to its establishment and the articulation of its business model; no public announcements regarding first deployments, strategic partnerships, or regulatory approvals have been made.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core company details are sourced from its website and a founder's LinkedIn profile; founding narrative and team composition lack independent corroboration.

Under the Hood

The core proposition is a managed energy storage service designed to circumvent the capital barriers and operational headaches common in its target markets. Circular Energy's website positions its offering as a full-stack Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) solution, where the company finances, procures, imports, commissions, monitors, maintains, and optimizes battery performance for commercial and industrial customers with no upfront costs [thecircularenergy.com]. This operational model shifts the burden from customer capital expenditure to a predictable monthly service fee, structured over a 7 to 15 year contract [thecircularenergy.com]. The pitch is one of cost savings and operational simplicity, directly targeting the high expense and logistical complexity of diesel generators and self-managed battery systems in regions with unreliable grids [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief].

Beyond the lease, the service includes a lifecycle management component framed as a circular economy contribution. The company claims to handle battery refurbishment, reconditioning, and repurposing, aiming to extract maximum value from the physical assets over their lifespan [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief]. This suggests a backend operation focused on extending asset utility and managing end-of-life logistics, though no technical details on these processes are publicly available. The target customer segments are explicitly telecommunications, commercial, and industrial sectors in Asia and Africa [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Product claims are sourced directly from the company website and a secondary research brief; no independent technical reviews or customer deployment details are available.

Market Research

The commercial and industrial energy storage market in emerging economies is a foundational requirement for economic stability, underscored by the persistent gap between grid capacity and industrial demand growth across Asia and Africa. The primary driver is grid unreliability, which forces businesses to rely on expensive and polluting diesel generators for backup power. A shift to battery storage is a direct cost-saving and operational necessity for sectors like telecommunications and manufacturing [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief].

Metric	Value
Global C&I BESS Market 2023	$10.2B
Projected CAGR (2024-2033)	20%

Regulatory and macro forces are coalescing to create tailwinds. Many governments in target markets have net-zero commitments that include reducing diesel dependency, creating potential for subsidies or favorable tariffs for clean backup power. Furthermore, the global push for a circular economy, particularly around managing the lifecycle of lithium-ion batteries, provides a secondary narrative layer that aligns with international development and climate finance priorities [ScienceDirect]. However, these are countered by significant macro risks, including currency volatility, complex import regulations for battery hardware, and the political instability that can affect long-term infrastructure contracts.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing is drawn from analogous, broader industry reports; specific BaaS TAM for target regions is not independently verified.

Competition and Substitutes

Circular Energy's competitive position is defined by its specific operational model and geography. The company is attempting to carve out a defensible niche by combining a pure opex financial model with full lifecycle management for battery storage, specifically targeting commercial and industrial customers in regions with unreliable grid infrastructure [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief].

• Incumbent Substitutes. The primary competition is from the status quo: direct purchase of diesel generators and lead-acid batteries, or capital expenditure on new lithium-ion systems. These incumbent solutions are deeply entrenched, with established supply chains and local maintenance networks.
• Adjacent Challengers. Several adjacent business models operate in the same energy access space but attack different parts of the problem. These include pure-play solar leasing companies, microgrid developers, and energy service companies (ESCOs) that may bundle generation with storage.
• Potential Future Direct Competitors. The most significant long-term competition may come from large, integrated battery manufacturers or global energy majors. Companies like BYD, Tesla, or Shell could theoretically launch a similar BaaS offering, using their scale to secure cheaper batteries and their balance sheets to offer more attractive financing.

Circular Energy's stated edge today rests on two intertwined pillars: its singular focus on the opex model for storage, and its commitment to circular economy principles like refurbishment and repurposing [thecircularenergy.com]. This is a software-enabled, service-heavy approach distinct from a pure hardware sale.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitive mapping is inferred from the company's stated model and the known structure of its target markets; no direct competitor profiles are publicly cited.

Opportunity

The prize for Circular Energy is the transformation of energy access for commercial and industrial operators across Africa and Asia, a market where unreliable power currently imposes a multi-billion dollar annual tax on productivity.

The headline opportunity is to become the default, asset-light energy storage infrastructure for mobile network operators and industrial facilities in its target regions. By offering a pure operational expense model, Circular Energy aligns its economics with customers who have predictable operational budgets but limited access to large-scale project financing [thecircularenergy.com].

Scenario	What happens	Catalyst	Why it's plausible
Anchor Tenant	Secures a multi-year, multi-site contract with a pan-African telecom tower operator.	A partnership with a major tower company like IHS Towers or Helios Towers, announced as a pilot program.	Telecom operators are actively seeking to reduce diesel dependency and operational complexity [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief].
Regulatory Tailwind	A national government or regional bloc mandates a percentage of backup power to come from renewable sources with storage.	Policy announcement in a key market like Nigeria or Kenya promoting grid stability.	Similar mandates have driven solar adoption [ScienceDirect].
Vertical Integration	Leverages its battery lifecycle management to source and refurbish second-life electric vehicle batteries.	A strategic partnership with an EV manufacturer or fleet operator for end-of-first-life battery packs.	The circular economy focus is central to the company's stated mission [thecircularenergy.com].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Opportunity framing relies on the company's stated model and market context; specific growth catalysts and comparables are inferred from industry dynamics rather than direct company confirmation.

Sources

1. [thecircularenergy.com] thecircularenergy | https://thecircularenergy.com/
2. [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief] Circular Energy Research Brief
3. [LinkedIn, 2026] Varun Giridhar - Circular Energy | https://www.linkedin.com/in/varungiridhar/
4. [RocketReach] Varun Giridhar Email & Phone Number | https://rocketreach.co/varun-giridhar-email_12735729
5. [PitchBook, 2026] Circular Energy 2026 Company Profile | https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/57428-56
6. [ScienceDirect] Circular Economy in the Renewable Energy Sector | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772427125000361