Nexwafe raises €39M Series C led by Reliance Industries
Solar is the most economic renewable energy on planet Earth. India is the second-most populous country with 1.38 billion inhabitants. On 24 June 2021, Mukesh Ambani, India’s most successful entrepreneur, Forbes top 10 (€86B) and majority owner of Reliance Industries, promised the shareholders to invest €8.6B in the next 3 years to build a new energy business powered by 4 vertically integrated giga factories for solar systems, batteries, green hydrogen electrolysers and fuel cells. On 10 October 2021, Reliance made the first move and acquired the solar manufacturer REC for €667M. Fitting well into Ambani’s ambitious solar strategy, Nexwafe today announces the first closing of their €39M Series C led by the subsidiary Reliance New Energy Solar. Aramco Ventures, Innoenergy and other co-investors participate in the round enabling Nexwafe to further develop and market its green solar wafer manufacturing technology. Next to investing a ticket of €25M, Reliance plans to license and deploy Nexwafe’s technology in its new solar giga factory. This is a strategic proof of scalability for Nexwafe’s green solar wafers.
Read moreEcosummit Zoom 2 June 2021
Founded in 2010, our mission is maximising our impact until 2030, the global deadline for carbon neutrality. Our goals are 100% electric mobility, 100% renewable energy and 100% sustainable cities. We’re zooming in again on fundraising startups and active investors at Ecosummit Zoom 2 June 2021, our 14th online event, co-hosted by Christoph Ostermann, Gerard Reid and Bart Markus. The agenda presents 11 inspiring speakers: Davor Sutija (Nexwafe) launching Series C, Sergey Ogorodnov (Voltaware) launching Series B, Duncan Grierson (Clim8) launching Series A, Cathal Hughes (BP Launchpad), Mike Popham (Stryde), Anna Björklou (Epishine), Franck Raynaud (MyBus) launching Series A, Peter van Giessel (Shell Ventures), Jochem de Graaf (Travis) launching Series A, Samuel Jansson (Utilifeed) launching Series A and Julia Padberg (SET Ventures). Please get in touch if you want to pitch at Ecosummit to accelerate your startup, fund or portfolio. Get your tickets and join us. Let’s automate sustainability in every industry and build big startups with big impact.
Read moreEcosummit Zoom 21 April 2021
On my 50th birthday, we meet online to celebrate together the smart green founders and investors writing success stories while saving our climate and planet. It is our pleasure to invite our friends and customers to the very special Ecosummit Zoom 21 April 2021 which is free and invitation-only, just like any other good birthday party. First, 5 impactful speakers unmute themselves to share good news: Ernesto Garnier (Einhundert), Christoph Frei (Emerald Technology Ventures), Christian Chudoba (Lumenaza), Matthias Dill (Energy Impact Partners) and Thomas Goette (Greenpocket). Afterwards, Rune Theill introduces the Rockstart Energy Showcase 2021 featuring 9 new portfolio companies: Bhaskar Deol (eDRV), Roby Moyano (Bia), Joury de Reuver (Soolutions), Christopher Jackson (Advanced Infrastructure), Golam Sadeghnia (OKTO), Rolf Bastiaanssen (Starke Energy), Mads Emil Dalsgaard (Klimate), Christoph Buchli (Helio) and Erik Nijveld (TechnologyCatalogue). Finally, we enjoy a distributed birthday party to foster our friendship and cooperation. Please send us an email to request your invitation to Ecosummit Zoom 21 April 2021. It’s time to make smart green business and have some fun.
Read moreEcosummit Zoom 10 March 2021
We focus on connecting fundraising startups and active investors to foster 100% electric mobility, 100% renewable energy and 100% sustainable cities. Ecosummit Zoom 10 March 2021 is co-hosted by Christoph Ostermann (ex-Sonnen), Gerard Reid (Alexa Capital) and Bart Markus (GAP Technology Holding). The agenda features 10 exciting speakers including 3 CVCs with portfolio pitches: Nils Aldag (Sunfire) building a global hydrogen powerhouse, Jan Lozek (Future Energy Ventures) managing Europe’s largest energy startup porfolio, Nick Woolley (ev.energy) optimising EV charging, Erin Hallock (BP Ventures) investing in game-changing energy startups, Tom Anderson (Grid Edge) providing AI for building energy systems, Nicolas Milerieux (Encevo) redefining smart energy corporate venturing, Arnaud Legrand (Energiency) enabling energy intelligence for manufacturing, Davor Sutija (NexWafe) advancing solar wafer deeptech, Florian Meyer-Delpho (Installion) scaling the installation service provider for the energy transition and Janice Goodenough (Hydrogrid) developing the autopilot for hydropower plants. Please get in touch if you want to pitch at Ecosummit Zoom to accelerate your startup, fund or portfolio. Now it’s your turn to get your tickets and join us.
Read moreHeliatek raises €80M Series D to increase production capacity by a factor of 40
Capital-intensive smart green startups in Europe aiming at building their own hardware factories have a hard time fundraising. Financially motivated VCs require capital efficiency and prefer hardware startups that outsource manufacturing and the necessary CAPEX. Financing new PV factories in Europe is even more difficult due to China’s hegemony. It turns out it can only be done if you develop the next generation of PV technology, continuously improve efficiency and work diligently on building a co-investor syndicate of family offices, corporates and governments. Keep in mind that it was the Chinese government that backed a myriad of Chinese manufacturers to hijack the global PV industry. After a very long fundraising journey, 10-year old Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) pioneer Heliatek finally found the capital to build its second 3G solar factory in Dresden, Germany’s epicentre of photonics and organic semiconductors.
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