The money will assist the firm’s rapid global expansion and fund the ongoing development of its solar thermal tubes, which the company claims are three to four times more efficient than traditional PV panels.
Naked Energy’s VirtuPVT collector combines solar photovoltaics (PV) and solar thermal technology to generate both electricity and heat from a single collector. The company claims that their modular design makes them the world’s highest energy density solar technology.
The VirtuHOT collector, which generates solar heat, recently received the gold standard TÜV international certification. Both technologies will be instrumental to the decarbonisation of heat in sectors from manufacturing to hotels and leisure centres.
The announcement follows investment from Barclays, ELM Companies, and Big Sky Partners, all of which has enabled the ambitious scale-up to launch in the US.
The funding from Barclays has come from the bank's Sustainable Impact Capital Programme, which has a mandate to spend £175 million of equity capital in sustainability-focused start-ups by 2025. Naked Energy was also supported by Barclays earlier this year through Unreasonable Impact, which supports high-growth ventures to scale and to address key global challenges.
Co-investor ELM Companies will distribute Naked Energy’s solar thermal and photovoltaic thermal (PVT) products in California, Texas, Arizona and ELM’s home state Illinois.
ELM, an industry leader in microgrids and energy storage, has set up a solar division and plans to build a factory to manufacture Naked Energy products in Texas.
Silicon Valley VC firm Big Sky Partners - run by Michael Schwab, son of legendary US investor Charles Schwab - has also invested.
“Naked Energy is revolutionising the solar energy space with their technology, a pivotal step in the decarbonisation of heat” said Gavin Chapman, Managing Director of Principal Investments, who will join Naked Energy’s board as a non-executive director. “We are excited to support their innovation and growth, and I look forward to our ongoing partnership as we support more clients and communities to meet their decarbonisation ambitions.”
Christophe Williams, CEO and co-founder of Naked Energy, added that the wave of investment the company has received has allowed it to scale its operations and that with the announcement of the company’s Series B funding round, Naked Energy is excited to grow its business even further and tap into new markets around the globe.
“We’re delighted that a leading investor like Barclays sees the opportunity in decarbonising heat - and its significant presence in the US will help us with our move into this new market” said Mr Williams. “It’s an incredibly exciting time for the business and we are looking for investors who share Naked Energy’s green vision. Decarbonising heat on a global scale is needed urgently to address climate change.”
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