VC-backed Sol Voltaics raises $9.4m

Ellie Pullen
18 September 2013

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Sweden-based Sol Voltaics has raised a further $9.4m from Norwegian investment company Umoe and a private investor.

The investment makes Umoe a major shareholder in the company, alongside Industrifonden, Nano Future Invest and Foundation Asset Management.

The equity injection comes just a few months after the company received a $6.2m loan from the Swedish Energy Agency, meaning Sol Voltaics has pulled in a total of $15.6m and has reached its 2013 funding goals, according to the company.

Umoe led the $9.4m (SEK 61m) round, which also saw Kent Janér, a cleantech investor and CEO of Nektar Asset Management, invest in the company.

The fresh funding will allow Sol Voltaics to finance the pilot production of its Solink nano-material, which is designed to increase the performance and energy output of solar panels.

Previous funding
Sol Voltaics first received seed funding in July 2008. Teknoinvest and Provider Venture Partners led the round, which saw contributions from LU Innovation, Nano Ventures and Scatec.

The company then raised a further SEK 15m in August 2010 from Nano Future Invest, Teknoinvest and Provider VP. The three firms then took part in a SEK 40m round for Sol Voltaics the following June, alongside existing investor Scatec and new backer Industrifonden.

Company
Founded in 2008, Sol Voltaics is headquartered in Lund and employs approximately 20 staff. The company develops nano-materials for the enhancement of solar panels. Its Solink product is a gallium arsenide additive for crystalline silicon, designed to allow panels to convert more sunlight into electricity. According to Sol Voltaics, using small amounts of Solink will increase the efficiency of solar panels by up to 25%.

People
Lars Samuelson is the founder and chief scientific officer of Sol Voltaics, while former Crosslink Capital partner David Epstein is the company's CEO. Jens Ullveit-Moe is the CEO of Umoe.

In conjunction with the funding round, the chairman of Sol Voltaics' board of directors, Magnus Ryde, has introduced two new board members: Umoe's Thomas Moe Borseth and Amprius CEO Kang Sun, the latter of whom will join as an independent director.