Climate-tech startup SOLshare has extended its Series A funding to US$5.7Mn on the back of US$1.1Mn of fresh capital from SBK Tech Ventures.  The company previously raised US$2.4Mn from Future Energy Ventures, a German venture capital fund investing in companies that have “the potential to redefine the future energy landscape,” along with US$2.2Mn in grants from parties such as KfW-DEG, the Zayed Sustainability Prize, Microsoft, the Siemens Foundation, FCDO and USAID.  This brings the total funding for SOLshare, via equity and grants, to US$6.9Mn.

The funding will support SOLshare's development of a global network of smart solar PV and storage assets, aiming to merge the energy and transport sectors. This initiative seeks to increase renewables integration into the grid and enhance the earnings of five million electric three-wheeler drivers in Bangladesh. A major project includes the Rickshaw VPP, the country's first Virtual Power Plant, which could buffer up to 30% of the national peak grid load.

Sonia Bashir Kabir, Managing General Partner of SBK Tech Ventures, stated, “SOLshare’s vision for creating a positive climate impact is truly inspiring. Their passion for climate action coupled with their exceptional leadership and dedication to driving innovation and sustainability in the energy sector is inimitable. We are excited about how SOLshare unfolds the value it brings to a climate-prone country like Bangladesh.”

Sebastian Groh, Managing Director and CEO of SOLshare remarked, “By 2029, SOLshare will remotely control 1 million smart batteries from Bangladesh’s fleet of over 5 million electric three-wheeler taxis. This initiative will not only increase earnings for millions of drivers but also enable these batteries to buffer 10% of the national peak load. Combined with the increased adoption of solar PV, this will be a crucial component of the country’s successful energy transformation and a lighthouse for the rest of the world.”

Recently, an additional grant of US$5.7Mn (EUR€5.3Mn) from the European Union’s CINEA was awarded to a consortium led by MicroEnergy International, with SOLshare as the primary technical partner. This funding will support the deployment of SOLgrids and a SOLmobility pilot in Tanzania and Rwanda, marking SOLShare’s technology debut outside Bangladesh. 

This series of investments and projects will support  SOLshare in its efforts towards sustainable energy solutions and economic benefits to underserved communities.