British solar heat and power company Naked Energy has announced it secured £17 million of new equity as part of a Series B first close.
Led by E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions (E.ON EIS), the funding round will support Naked Energy’s global expansion and adoption of its heat decarbonisation solutions. E.ON EIS is a strategic partner to Naked Energy, as part of E.ON group’s innovation programme ‘Free Electrons’ which tests and scales new technologies that can enable decarbonisation across Europe.
It was supported by co-investment from Barclays, which has also invested before, through its Sustainable Impact Capital, which has a mandate to invest £500 million into global climate tech startups by the end of 2027.
Naked Energy offers heat-as-a-service through installation of its Virtu solar technology which uses modular solar collectors to heat water up to 120°C. According to the company, the tech saves three times more carbon per metre squared than standard solar photovoltaic (PV) panels.
The company also says that thanks to the modular assembly and compatibility with multiple roof types also means installation can be faster and cheaper.
It is a complementary technology that integrates with existing heating technology, such as heat pumps, most effective when Virtu is used to pre-heat the system to be maintained by a backup heat source.
E.ON EIS will have access to the Virtu product range, which also includes a hybrid thermal and PV solar technology that generates both heat and electricity, for its commercial and industrial customers.
Christophe Williams, CEO of Naked Energy, 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 is 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.
“Heat decarbonisation presents a huge economic opportunity. With investment from such major industry players, we’re confident we can capitalise on this global shift and look forward to other like-minded investors joining us on our journey to ‘change energy for good’.”
Daniel Joisten, head of innovation commercialisation at E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions, added: “Naked Energy’s solutions have distinctive and convincing value propositions. We will utilise them to help our customers, in industries such as Food & Beverage and Hospitality, to decarbonise their businesses profitably. We are looking forward to scaling our joint business activities, both from an E.ON perspective and on Naked Energy’s board of directors.”
