Floral Energy announces its merger with US-based distributed energy provider GridSwitch, alongside seed funding from early-stage European tech investor LocalGlobe. Founded by a team with decades of experience at the forefront of nuclear energy, aerospace, and business innovation, Floral Energy’s mission is to transform distributed energy solutions for large-scale users such as data centres, EV supercharging hubs, hospitals, industrial sites, and more. The strategic milestones allow Floral Energy to accelerate R&D and expand its transatlantic operations ahead of a Series A fundraise in late 2025.

Combining deep expertise in advanced digital technologies, thermal management, and nuclear energy with GridSwitch’s established US network and proven expertise in microgrid installation and intelligent control systems, Floral Energy is developing intelligent energy systems that provide ultra-resilient, lower-carbon power for the world’s most energy-intensive industries.

Designed to scale with customers over time and to evolve with the latest zero-carbon technologies as they become available – including SMRs, AMRs and fusion – Floral Energy will deliver next-generation power solutions for enterprise customers, to the size and complexity demanded by hyperscale data centres and other high-intensity users. By adding specialisms in nuclear integration, advanced digital twinning, and system-wide optimisation, Floral Energy is now uniquely positioned to scale intelligent microgrid technology and disrupt the distributed energy market – on both sides of the Atlantic.

World-class founding team building future-ready tech

Floral Energy was founded in 2024 by Paul Stein CBE, Mark Thompson, and Paul Tobin.

• CEO Paul Stein CBE was formerly CTO of Rolls-Royce and chaired its nuclear energy startup, Rolls-Royce SM
• CCO Mark Thompson was head of Business Development, M&A, and Strategy at Rolls-Royce, leading the initial £500 million fundraise for Rolls-Royce SMR
• Paul Tobin, President of GridSwitch, was formerly the Executive Vice President, Nuclear Engineering Services at Rolls-Royce
• Director of Technology, Carrie Lambert, formerly a Rolls-Royce engineer and Head of Sustainability at Reaction Engines has recently joined the team, alongside Katie Hudson, who brings experience from a tech venture-builder to lead business operations and communications.

A system under strain

Floral Energy’s leadership has seen first-hand how today’s ageing power infrastructure is struggling under accelerated energy consumption, driven by AI, cloud computing and electrification. In the UK, large data centre developments are facing 10+ year delays due to grid capacity constraints and, in the US, a survey showed that nearly half of the major utilities received data centre power requests exceeding their current capacity. Global electricity consumption is forecasted to as much as triple by 2050 – and existing solutions lack the scale, resilience and capabilities which will be critical to satisfy this demand, as we also try to transition to cleaner energy.

Paul Stein, CEO, Floral Energy said: "On both sides of the Atlantic, energy infrastructure is buckling under the pressure of data centres, AI, EVs and population growth, and it just isn’t cut out to handle the next wave of digital growth or the energy transition. At Floral Energy, we’re engineering microgrids that don’t just keep up – they redefine what’s possible. The integration of intelligent grid technologies, AI, ML and Combined Heat and Power will change the game for distributed energy. Floral Energy’s systems will achieve the very high reliability required for data centres and other high-intensity users today, while having built-in readiness for the technologies of tomorrow, including nuclear.

Smart, scalable, and future-ready

Floral Energy's intelligent energy systems use AI, digital twinning, and machine learning to optimise microgrids in real time, at both single- and multi-site scale. These systems monitor, forecast, and automatically balance power from renewables, storage, and direct generation to meet demand and prevent outages, empowering large-scale users to increase efficiency and reduce costs, with the ability to integrate diverse energy sources and advanced, zero-carbon technologies, including nuclear, as they become available.

Robin Klein, Co-Founder of Phoenix Court Group, home of LocalGlobe: "AI and data centres are driving soaring demand for localised, high-integrity power, and Floral Energy has the ingredients to lead this energy revolution. The team’s unique combination of leadership, experience, IP, and future-ready approach makes them one of the most exciting infrastructure companies we've seen. Floral Energy is uniquely positioned to build secure, optimised microgrid power solutions for the energy transition, thanks to Paul and his team's expertise and vision."

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