Geospatial AI for the energy transition: how Plume is accelerating renewable site selection

Permitting is one of the primary bottlenecks slowing Europe's renewable energy expansion. According to SolarPower Europe, permitting delays for solar projects in several EU countries exceed two years and in some cases reach four - double the maximum duration set under the Renewable Energy Directive III (RED III). Developing a single renewable energy project requires cross-referencing zoning data, grid capacity, protected areas, and land parcels whilst analysing municipal deliberations, permit histories, environmental studies, and grid development plans. It is precisely this fragmentation of data across sources and formats that Plume was built to address.

Plume, co-founded in 2024 by Edouard Labarthe and Marc Watine, aggregates over 150 continuously updated geospatial datasets and deploys AI agents to process large volumes of unstructured regulatory documents, covering from prospecting to permit analysis and grid connection planning. Working through a natural language interface, project developers can query territorial constraints and regulatory risks across a given site without manual document review, with the platform synthesising structured geospatial data and unstructured planning records into a unified view of each location's viability. The platform is already active in France, Spain, Romania, and the Czech Republic.

In April 2026, the franco-american company raised €3.9 million in a funding round led by AENU, the Berlin-based climate-focused venture capital firm, with participation from Y Combinator, Kima Ventures, Raise Sherpa, Better Angle, and Collab Fund. The capital will support both market expansion and team growth.

RED III sets a binding target of at least 42.5% renewable energy in the EU's energy mix by 2030 and identifies permitting complexity as a primary obstacle to deployment at the pace the target requires. With site selection and permit processing remaining among the most time-intensive stages of renewable infrastructure development, the data infrastructure Plume is building addresses a documented bottleneck in the energy transition.

Sources: Plume | SolarPower Europe - EU permitting | RED III - European Commission

Founders: Edouard Labarthe, Marc Watine