Amplicity Raises USD 1.01M Seed to Put Idle Data Centre Batteries to Work on Singapore's Grid

Somewhere in Singapore's data centres, batteries are sitting fully charged, waiting for a power outage that almost never comes. Amplicity, a Singapore-headquartered energy technology company, says that idle capacity is worth putting to work. On October 29, 2026, it announced it had closed a USD 1.01 million seed round backed by Loyal VC.

The company's own estimate is that about 160 MWh of uninterruptible power supply and backup battery capacity is installed in Singapore's data centres alone. Amplicity acknowledges that not all of it can be used flexibly. Its platform targets the usable portion, with the aim of cutting electricity bills, earning revenue from the grid and helping more renewable power come online, all while preserving each site's backup requirements. Across Asia-Pacific, it estimates roughly 740 MWh of installed battery capacity in data centres, with more in factories and industrial facilities.

The backdrop is rising demand. AI, advanced manufacturing and the shift to electric vehicles are pushing Singapore's electricity use higher. Data centres already account for about 7 per cent of the country's electricity, and the country has more than 1.6 GW of data centre capacity with at least 300 MW more planned. The grid still generates about 95 per cent of its power from natural gas, and clean power imports from neighbouring countries are years away.

"Singapore is right to look beyond its borders for clean power, but those projects will take time," said Stéphane Leyo, co-founder and CEO. He argued that some of the needed storage is already installed in data centres and factories, and that the next storage opportunity is not only about building more batteries.

For operators, the main obstacle has been fear that touching the backup could cause an outage. Amplicity says it uses only the capacity above each site's backup reserve. The operator sets the limits, and local controllers on site enforce them, even without an internet connection.

The company says the greatest value typically comes from peak shaving, which trims the demand spikes that large users pay extra for. It builds a strategy around each site's load profile, tariff and constraints, then layers wholesale market revenue on top. Its own modelling suggests a S$500,000 battery at a Singapore data centre could deliver about S$256,000 a year in value, mostly from peak shaving, with the rest from the wholesale electricity market. The same approach is said to apply to factories and other industrial sites with backup or on-site batteries.

The model starts with batteries a site already owns, so there is no new battery spend. Amplicity also optimises operational battery energy storage systems and, where more storage pays, installs new ones with financing options. A Battery Value Assessment shows operators what their batteries could be worth before they commit. The company adds that distributed batteries at existing sites can help a constrained grid stay stable and take on more renewables without new infrastructure.

Co-founder and COO Gabriel Schiano framed it as making existing and future energy infrastructure work smarter. Michael Kosic, Founding Partner of Loyal VC, called it a capital-light way to support the energy transition. Amplicity began at ENGIE Factory, the incubator of energy group ENGIE, which was later acquired by Pacific Channel; Tim van Vliet of Pacific Channel said the team's potential was recognised early.

The company is engaged with more than 20 prospective customer sites across Asia-Pacific and plans to enter Japan in 2027. It recently won the Pioneers in Sustainability Award at the France-Singapore Business Awards 2026 and is a finalist for the Sustainability Innovation Award and Start-Up of the Year at the AustCham Singapore Business Awards 2026. Whether those prospective sites become paying customers is the next thing to watch.