The world is increasingly growing aware of the detrimental effects of fossil fuel and is actively seeking an alternative. Solar energy is one of the key alternative sources of energy and the technology behind harnessing it is getting economical and accessible with each passing year.
According to the EC, due to a solid industrial foundation, solar power has fast become one of the cheapest technologies for electricity generation worldwide. Between 2009 and 2018, the costs of production decreased by 75% while the market continued to expand. It also mentions that in 2018, the EU solar market grew by 8GW, and by an estimated 15-17GW in 2019. The solar market is expected to continue to grow from 2020 onwards, making solar capacity a cornerstone of the clean energy transition.
EU has also been increasingly adopting photovoltaics. It is a method to harness solar energy and convert it into electrical energy via solar cells, involving a physicochemical phenomenon called the photovoltaic effect. As per the EC, the technology is being widely used globally and contributes to a large part of the EU’s energy mix. In 2018, the EU output of photovoltaic electricity reached 127 TWh, amounting to 3.9% of the EU’s gross electricity output. Treading the photovoltaic route is a Berlin-based greentech startup called Zolar, and it just raised an additional €15M.
Sun, solar, and Series B
Zolar has received an additional €15M from its current investors as part of an expansion of the Series B financing round. The total investment of the Series B round launched in 2019 has increased to €25M.
Czech venture capital fund Inven Capital, which specialises in greentech, led this funding round once again. Previous investors Heartcore Capital, Statkraft Ventures, BayWa r.e. Energy Ventures and Partech also participated in this round. Zolar will utilise this fresh capital to speed up the scaling of the business model as well as to prepare for international expansion in the coming years. It also plans on further optimising its own digital partner platform – the Zolar Project Center.
“The new funding paves the way for us to become the go-to company for clean energy and individual solar systems, to expand internationally and to establish ourselves as a data provider”, says, Alex Melzer, CEO of Zolar.
Harnessing the sun
Zolar was founded in 2016 by Alex Melzer and Gregor Loukidis. It offers photovoltaic systems, which homeowners are able to custom plan, compare, and order online, at a fixed price.
According to the company, by using the Zolar online configurator, homeowners are able to customise the components of their solar energy system according to their needs and will receive a personal consultation at the same time from one of its solar energy experts. It has also partnered with local companies in order to provide installation services on-site. Zolar claims that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the startup has been able to double its revenue compared to the previous year.
Back in 2017, the company raised €4M in Series A financing round. “The more we grow, the faster we can revolutionize the energy industry together with our customers and help to avert the climate crisis. Zolar stands for climate protection straight from the bat, we want to be the catalyst for an energy revolution in every household,” Melzer adds.
Image credits: Zolar
