Solar energy company Soly has raised 30 million euros in growth capital. The investment will enable Soly to expand into other countries and offer new energy services. Existing investors Shell Ventures and pension fund ABP are also participating in the new funding round.
"Soly's mission is to make solar energy available to everyone. With this investment, we can help even more people and businesses, in even more new countries, switch to renewable and affordable energy. I am immensely proud of our team's achievements and our customers' trust over the past decade. I am delighted to welcome these impact-driven partners," said Patrick van der Meulen, co-founder and CEO of Soly.
Predicting and driving
With this investment, Soly is working toward becoming the energy company of the future. Milan van der Meulen, co-founder, explains, "The energy transition has long ceased to revolve solely around generating energy. In the coming phase, forecasting and driving sustainable energy will be crucial. In 2023, we therefore launched our energy control system: the Soly Brain®. Based on our dynamic energy contract, it intelligently controls solar panels, home batteries and charging stations, among other things, to create an additional revenue model for the end user. Eventually, we will bundle all our users into a Virtual Power Plant to actively balance the energy grid and offer new services. This year we will already realize the first energy networks in the Netherlands and Germany."
Strong growth
The transition from fossil energy to decentralized and renewable energy is characterized by exponential growth but also by erratic market conditions. Driven by extremely high energy prices, the European solar market grew 40% in 2022, while in the latter part of 2023 market demand fell sharply. Thanks in part to rapid international expansion, new products and its proprietary software platform, Soly tripled its sales in 2023 compared with 2022. Soly now operates in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom and South Africa selling and renting solar energy systems, batteries and charging stations.
