British solar heat & power firm Naked Energy announced today that it has secured £17 million of new equity to supercharge its global expansion and sales of its solutions designed to decarbonise heat.
The investment round was led by E.ON spinoff Energy Infrastructure Solutions (E.ON EIS), a provider of integrated, sustainable energy solutions for cities and industries, and a strategic partner to Naked
The partnership was initiated by E.ON Group Innovation through the global accelerator programme Free Electrons, in which E.ON’s innovation team identified the advanced Naked Energy technology.
The strategic partnership was struck in October 2023, intended to help the partners continuously expand the collaboration. The series was supported by co-investment from existing investor Barclays through its Sustainable Impact Capital fund.
Both sides see the investment as endorsing Naked’s growth plans, accelerating roll-out of its international distribution of its award-winning solar heat and power devices.
Naked Energy’s Virtu solar collectors have a modular design and the world’s highest energy density of their type, proven to be up to four times more impactful at offsetting CO2 emissions than conventional solar PV panels.
E.ON EIS will benefit from access to the innovative Virtu product range for its commercial and industrial customers.
The relationship between E.ON and Naked Energy will facilitate the provision of Naked Energy’s technology through a Heat-As-A-Service model to a global client base. The two companies already work on a pipeline of projects across several national markets.
Naked Energy has sold its Virtu product range to more than 20 countries and is well-established in the UK and Europe, having signed deals with industrial and commercial clients, such as IHG Hotels & Resorts and Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London.
The IEA Renewables Report 2023 projects that the share of heat from renewable energy will increase by more than 40% worldwide from 2023 to 2028. As a result of the deal, Naked Energy is well-positioned to capitalise on this growing opportunity for renewable heat technologies.
The company has manufacturing bases in the UK and Europe, and is scheduled to start manufacturing in Dallas, Texas later this year in partnership with its US distribution partner ELM Solar.
Naked’s CEO Christophe Williams said: “The first wave of investment of our Series B round is transformative for our journey and a great step in the wider movement to decarbonise heat.
“It’s clear that both E.ON and Barclays share our sense of urgency to decarbonise heat. Heating takes up over half of all energy consumed globally, and as the demand for renewable heat continues to rise, we’re committed more than ever to supporting the commercial and industrial sectors in their transition away from natural gas.
