Elax Énergie announced €30 million in financing from Noria and Crédit Mutuel Impact. Founded in 2020, the Paris company develops a controller that adjusts electric water-heater operation to household hot-water consumption. It says the technology reduces electricity consumption associated with hot-water production by 20–25%, avoiding unnecessary heating and shifting operating periods. The business has initially focused on social housing, working with more than 100 housing providers and reporting approximately 100,000 equipped homes. The financing will support Elax Pro, a planned network of roughly 100 plumbers, electricians and heating professionals who can install the technology for individual households. Elax also intends to enter collective heating, developing a system that could substitute electricity for part of the gas used in communal installations. The company links these plans to using water heaters as flexible thermal storage for renewable electricity. With approximately 50 employees, it plans another 30 hires by the end of 2027 across engineering, research, operations and commercial functions.