Ambient Photonics, a low-light solar photovoltaic cells company, raised $31 million in Series A funding.
Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF) led the funding, with Tony Fadell’s Future Shape and I Squared Capital participating.
The company plans to use the new funds to build the largest low-light solar cell production facility in the US.
The facility’s fully automated production line and capacity for tens of millions of units per year will enable Ambient to scale its low-cost, high-power-density solar cells to mass market adoption.
By eliminating disposable batteries or reducing rechargeable battery mass, the company’s IoT and smart home device partners, like Universal Electronics, can offer significant operational and environmental benefits to their customers. This reduces landfill waste and the carbon footprint of battery-powered devices by up to 80%.
In keeping with its plans to scale low-light energy harvesting production facilities, Ambient will continue to progress its Part II application for a $162 million loan guarantee under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program.
“Disposable batteries are both a consumer inconvenience and a significant environmental problem,” stated Matt Peterson, director of The Climate Pledge Fund at Amazon.
“IoT sensors are everywhere. And each one has a battery that gets replaced and added to toxic trash,” said Tony Fadell, Nest founder and author of Build.
In April 2022, Perch Energy, a Boston-based clean energy tech and services company that offers diverse products and services for homeowners, renters, businesses, and solar project owners, raised $6.2 million in a Series A funding round. The funding round was led by Arborview Capital.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2022 solar funding and M&A report, global VC funding for the solar sector in Q1 2022 came to $1.2 billion in 26 deals, a 45% decrease compared to $2.2 billion raised in 19 deals in Q4 2021. Year-over-year funding was 19% higher compared to Q1 2021.
