EAB Private Equity and Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment) have invested €15 million (~$15.6 million) in the Finnish solar energy company Solnet Green Energy.
The investments will help solnet accelerate its growth in the European market and help build out the scope of ancillary services offered to customers, such as energy storage and management systems.
Solnet provides Smart Solar Solutions offering IoT-enabled solar utilities and systems integrations for B2B customers as a managed service and turn-key solutions. They also offer corporate customers utility-scale Smart Solar and energy storage IoT-enabled solutions.
The company has delivered around 400 solar utilities to clients such as IKEA, DHL, Lidl, Kesko, and other asset managers, insurers, and logistics companies.
“Solnet is a great fit with our sustainability-driven investment strategy. Strong megatrends such as zero emissions, investments in renewable energy, and energy independence combined with Solnet’s competitive advantages create an excellent platform for growth. In Europe, the share of solar as an energy source is set to double in just a few years. As an active owner, we look forward to supporting Solnet’s management team in implementing the ambitious growth plan,” says Kalle Kekkonen, Managing Partner at EAB Private Equity.
“Our investment in Solnet promotes both Tesi’s ‘Renewable energy and energy efficiency’ impact theme as well as sustainable development goals. It also supports the pursuit of carbon neutrality and energy independence in Finland and Europe. We want to be on board in further accelerating Solnet’s strong growth and internationalization in the European key markets,” says Heli Kerminen, Investment Director at Tesi.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2022 solar funding and M&A report, Total corporate funding—including venture capital (VC) funding, public market, and debt financing—into the solar sector in Q1 2022 came to $7.5 billion in 49 deals, a 51% increase compared to $5 billion raised in 32 deals in Q4 2021.
