World-leading solar business announces Series B funding round
● British solar tech developer Naked Energy targets £10 million-plus raise
● Funds raised will go towards major US expansion and further global expansion
● This follows successful bridge funding round led by Barclays as part of its Sustainable Impact Capital Programme
13th July 2022, London: British solar heat tech developer Naked Energy today announces the
opening of its Series B funding round - targeting £10 million-plus to meet increased demand for
green energy globally.
Money raised will aid the firm’s rapid global expansion and fund the ongoing development of its
world-beating solar thermal tubes, which 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, and 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.
Gavin Chapman, Managing Director of Principal Investments, will join Naked Energy’s board as a
non-executive director.
He said: “Naked Energy is revolutionising the solar energy space with their technology, a pivotal
step in the decarbonisation of heat. 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, said: “The wave of investment we’ve
received has allowed us to scale our operations. With the announcement of our Series B
funding round, we’re excited to grow our 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.
“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.”
ENDS
For more details, contact Abigail Smith at Harpswood,
abigail@harpswood.com / 07398 096558
About Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital Programme:
As part of the firm’s broader commitments, Barclays will invest £175m of its own capital, led by the Principal Investments team, in fast-growing, innovative, environmentally-focused companies whose values are aligned with those of Barclays and which target the goals and timelines of the Paris Agreement. Investments will be strategic to Barclays, its clients and the communities it serves, with clear scalable propositions that deliver both environmental benefits and economic returns. To find out more, click here.
About Naked Energy:
Naked Energy is a British design and engineering business, leading the global innovation in solar thermal and solar PVT. Naked Energy’s mission is to change energy for good, by decarbonising heat, the largest global energy end use in buildings across the world. Naked Energy’s high energy density solutions are capable of decarbonising heat cost-effectively and with limited space; its solar PVT technology delivers up to 3.5 times the carbon savings per m2 in comparison to conventional solar PV.