Zolar, a leading digital solar platform in Germany, has secured €100 million in Series C funding. This financing round was led by the US-investor Energy Impact Partners (EIP), which invested in Greenly and GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund. Existing investors, including Inven Capital, Heartcore Capital, Statkraft Ventures and Pirate Impact Capital also participated in the round.
How Zolar plans to use funds?
With the investment, Zolar plans to roll out new digital energy products. Also, the company’s app will be expanded to include an energy management system and a dynamic electricity tariff.
Besides this, the company will open its own training centre this year to tackle the renewable sector’s skills gap and train workers in a qualified fast-track process for the energy turnaround.
Alex Melzer, CEO and Founder of Zolar, said: “Our goal is to supply ten million households in Europe with either a solar system or renewable energy by 2030. The climate crisis, energy security issues and the rising cost of fossil fuels mean we must move very quickly. By offering a fully digital experience and making it as easy as possible to get started and use solar energy, we help people go green, become energy independent and save costs.
Matthias Dill, Managing Partner Europe at Energy Impact Partners, said: “The demand for green energy will steeply accelerate in the world’s efforts to a net-zero future. Climate tech will drive the modern economy accelerating the transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. “Our investment in zolar is part of our mission to support startups worldwide that are resolutely driving the path to a sustainable future.”
Choo Yong Cheen, Chief Investment Officer of Private Equity at GIC, said: “Our investment into Zolar is a testament of GIC’s support of green innovation and the clean energy transition. During the coming decades, climate change will define investments speeding up the carbon transition. Zolar helps homeowners to significantly reduce their carbon emissions, which is vital to the global decarbonisation efforts.”
Affordable green energy made possible
Zolar was founded in 2016 by Alex Melzer and Gregor Loukidis in Berlin. It is driving the green energy revolution by democratising access to solar energy and reducing the complexity for consumers.
It offers photovoltaic systems, which homeowners can customise, compare and order online at a fixed price. Zolar allows businesses and consumers to lease solar on a monthly basis.
Enquiries to Zolar have more than quadrupled this year following rising energy prices. To meet consumers’ unprecedented demand for solar energy, Zolar will substantially expand its Craftship Partner Network of currently 500 local craft businesses to 3,000 by 2025 to increase installation capacity for solar energy.
Currently, there are 16 million roofs on single and two-family homes in Germany. More than 14 million of them are still without solar systems. Putting solar panels on these houses will drive Germany’s independence from coal, gas and oil.
What does Zolar do?
The digital platform for individual solar solutions is tailored to the needs of modern homeowners for green energy. With a completely digital shopping experience, the greentech startup offers easy and digital access to photovoltaics. It enables even more people to use renewable energy in their own homes and make an essential contribution to climate protection.
Its online configurator is unique in the industry and makes it as easy as possible for homeowners to buy customised solar solutions online or lease them for a small monthly fee. This enables people to green their energy supply around their house while saving money and supporting their country’s efforts to become independent from oil and gas.
Notably, the app will intelligently control the solar power supply of homeowners while maximising their energy independence and cost savings.
