Soly raises €30 million for European expansion

Soly, a Dutch developer of software and services that enable the adoption of solar panels, batteries and electric vehicle charging in the residential and small business market, has raised €30 million to finance expansion into Italy, Spain, France, and Scandinavia.

Soly, which is already active in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, South Africa, and the U.K., has just launched in Italy, the first of the four planned market entries. It will be based in Milan, Lombardy, in the northern part of the country.

Soly's €30 million financing round attracted new investors such as  ArcTern Ventures and Fifth Wall, which are North American venture capital firms. They were joined by early investors Shell Ventures, the corporate venture arm of energy giant Shell, along with Dutch pension fund ABP.

Soly develops a platform to sell and lease to the residential and small business market a range of energy products, such as solar panels, inverters, electric vehicle chargers, and battery storage systems. It also provides an energy contract with variable tariffs and dynamic energy features.

In addition, the Dutch company offers a product it calls Soly Brain, a home energy management system with a consumer app.

“Based on our dynamic energy contract, it intelligently controls solar panels, home batteries and charging stations, among other things, to create an additional revenue model for the end-user,” Soly founder Milan van der Meulen told pv magazine, noting that the Soly Brain unit can control usage based on time-of-use tariffs to generate savings.

There is also a plan to develop virtual power plants for Dutch and German customers enabled by the Solar Brain product. “Eventually, we’ll bundle our users into a virtual power plant to actively balance the energy grid and offer new services. In 2024, we’ll install the first energy networks in the Netherlands and Germany,” said van der Meulen.

Soly’s products and services are sold via a self-service configurator and app that enables customers to generate quotes and set up appointments for installation. Soly also offers its solution as a white-label service to partners, such as insurance companies and banks, according to van der Meulen.

Gronigen-based Soly, formerly known as Enie, was founded in 2013 and employs 160 people. Its international growth has been achieved organically, without mergers or acquisitions, according to van der Meulen.