"We push the risk back to where it belongs"
The energy transition needs bold bets. Few are bolder than asking households to commit for 15 years of heating, electricity, and peace of mind. Johan Outinan, co-founder and CEO of Elvy Energy, argues that it’s the only way to scale clean energy fast.
Johan Outinen grew up in northern Sweden, where –46 °C isn’t just a number but a lived reality. Heating wasn’t optional, it was survival. That shaped his conviction that energy should be both practical and transformative.
– Heating is important. Seventeen years ago, I installed my first heat pump with my father. The tech worked then, and it’s even better today. So why aren’t we scaling it? The problem isn’t the solutions, it’s the complexity, says Johan.
Launched in 2023, Elvy sells flat-rate subscriptions for household energy. Customers sign a 15-year agreement, and Elvy takes care of everything: installation, insurance, maintenance, and even market trading.
– People don’t want to buy a heat pump or a battery. They want the outcome: cheaper and cleaner energy without stress. That’s why we built Elvy on radical simplicity, Johan explains.
That simplicity is harder than it looks. The company takes on risks ranging from hardware failures and volatile energy prices to extreme weather and customer defaults. Johan’s background in law and finance has been critical.
– We push the risk back to where it belongs. If an OEM says they build the best assets, they should guarantee it. If an installer claims quality, they should carry the responsibility. The rest we hedge through financial structures and trading.
Growth has been rapid: Elvy reports 30% month-over-month expansion in 2025, aiming for $30–40 million in revenue this year. Still, Johan insists that the hardest part isn’t engineering or finance, but trust.
– We could grow faster, but trust is the bottleneck. Signing a 15-year contract with a startup is a big ask. Customers need to see us in the press, recognize our partners, and feel we’ll be around. That’s the hurdle we work hardest on.
Investors call us the holy grail of energy
Expansion plans are already on the table. Germany and the UK, with millions of gas boilers slated for replacement, are prime targets. And incumbents have noticed.
– Experts said what we’re doing was impossible. But physics doesn’t say it’s impossible. It’s all about execution. Now the incumbents are calling us instead.
Elvy’s financial model is just as ambitious. By leveraging long-term contracts, the company has secured $165 million in credit facilities and is now raising a Series A.
– Investors call us the holy grail of energy. I just call it hard work, Johan laughs.
That hard work points to a different philosophy than hype cycles and subsidy chasing.
– Don’t build for subsidies. Build for reality. If your product is better, people will adopt it. That’s the only way to make something lasting, says Johan.
From ice-cold nights in northern Sweden to contracts stretching into the 2040s, Johan Outinen is betting that Spotify-for-energy isn’t just a metaphor. It’s the future default.