Solar Monkey raises €4M in growth capital to expand its organisation and increase worldwide impact. The Investment was co-lead by Finnish Helen Ventures and Eneco, who joined the journey to empower their sustainability mission together with the current investors, including 4impact capital and InnovationQuarter.
Solar Monkey accelerates the solar energy transition with software that allows installers to work much more effectively. This is important because these installers have limited time on their hands and a massive workload. Solar Monkey’s software offers a way to save time on designing, quoting and monitoring solar PV systems. The innovative software is based on advanced algorithms, aerial imagery and 3D-models. Yet it is easy to use by anyone without technical knowledge. By reducing time spent on operational processes, Solar Monkey’s clients can double their output.
The company was founded in 2015 by Jan Pieter Versluijs (CEO), Tino de Bruijn (CTO) and Mels van Hoolwerff (former CFO). Since 2017, the company has been the market leader in the Netherlands. Every fourth system in the country is facilitated by this software. When you get a proposal for solar panels in your email, it is very likely that Solar Monkey software was used for that. “We are incredibly proud about this'‘, says Tino. “As a result our clients can make more impact and be more profitable. With our software, installers manage in minutes what used to take hours. Our software contributes to our mission of accelerating the transition to solar energy as fast as possible.”
Terhi Vapola, Vice President, Head & Founder of Helen Ventures, explains the investor perspective. “We are very happy to invest in Solar Monkey. The company's past growth speaks for itself. With rising energy costs and more awareness of climate change, the timing is excellent for accelerated scaling of solar solutions across new markets.”
Hans Cool, Investment Director of Eneco Ventures, sees Solar Monkey as a valuable addition to the portfolio. “We are enthusiastic about the innovative software that Solar Monkey has developed, and see a lot of synergies with other companies in our portfolio that are active in the energy market with solar panels and heat pumps.”
The growth capital is intended for further international expansion and strengthening the product offering. Currently, Solar Monkey is active in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain and soon also in Germany and England. “We see that the Netherlands is leading solartech innovation in terms of software. We use our knowledge to generate impact in the rest of Europe. Thanks to this investment, we are able to pursue this ambition in the highest gear. Over the past five years, the Dutch market has grown explosively from 0.3 GWp to a staggering 2GWp (~>200,000 installations) per year. We hope to achieve the same in other countries, where the potential is still huge!” says Versluijs with a big smile on his face.
