The Series B funding round was led by E.ON Infrastructure Solutions and supported by co-investment from Barclays, through its Sustainable Impact Capital.
It means that Naked Energy, which has sold its unique high energy density solar technology to more than 20 countries, can now accelerate its growth even further.
We spoke to the company’s CEO and co-founder, Christophe Williams, on what this means for the decarbonisation of heat, the barriers that remain in the journey to net zero, and the ‘cold elephant in the room’.
“Heat is the cold elephant in the room,” Christophe said. “For too long it’s been overlooked. Because it’s tough – it’s boilers, furnaces and it’s distributed throughout society – so it’s been left in the long grass.
“Heat accounts for half of all energy consumed on the planet and is responsible for almost 40% of emissions, but there’s not enough focus on decarbonising that heat,” Christophe argues.
“It’s such a narrow view that heat pumps are the only technology that will decarbonise heat. It is a fantastic solution and is getting better, but it’s not a renewable technology and adds a load to the grid.
“Where the energy going to a heat pump is 100% renewable, that’s great, but how will we produce all the energy that is needed for powering everything? We have the oldest grid in the world, and to upgrade that to deal with electrification will be a multi-decadal challenge. The new government wanting clean power by the end of this decade is going to be an enormous challenge.”
The Naked Energy solution
Naked Energy Ltd designs, develops and manufactures innovative hybrid PVT solar technology products.
Its Virtu range redefines solar energy. It’s a hybrid solar collector that combines solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal technology, to generate both electricity and heat from a single solar collector.
Unlike solar PV, which generates only electricity, Virtu performs at optimal efficiency by also capturing the sun’s heat energy up to 75°C. The high-performance solar collectors generate heat up to 120°C, suitable for hot water or for pre-heat and process heat in many industrial environments. It is ideal for settings such as hotels, leisure centres, universities, multi-dwelling properties and applications covering the lower range of industrial process heat.
Naked Energy’s products generate more energy per square metre than any other solar technology – proven to be up to four times more impactful at offsetting CO2 emissions than conventional solar PV panels – making them ideal for high-energy consumers, especially those without the space for traditional solar panels.
The products dramatically reduce energy bills and carbon emissions and work seamlessly with other onsite solutions, enabling affordable clean energy transition.
A target for solar thermal
Despite the huge potential for solar thermal, there are currently no targets for it in the UK.
“Europe is putting out a mandate through the Green Deal and solar thermal is recognised and supported. There are currently 10 million systems already on rooftops in Europe and because every solar system has storage, there’s also 185 GWh built in, all helping to balance the grid.
“But here there is no national target or policy support for solar thermal. Why not? We’re just so far behind.”
Naked Energy is one of the main sponsors of the Solar Heat Europe roadmap which is actively promoting the use of solar thermal technology for heating and cooling. The publication ‘Energising Europe with Solar Heat – A Solar Thermal Roadmap’ has been signed by more than 100 entities and sponsors.
Naked Energy asserts that the UK should have a solar heat target and has set this at 11GW of solar thermal to be installed by 2030. This equates to 0.16kwth per person and matches the EU target. Countries like Germany, Denmark and Austria have already met or significantly exceeded this, while France, Sweden, Ireland and the UK are languishing far behind.
The UK currently stands at just 0.02kwth and would need to see 26% growth in solar thermal every year from now until 2030, across both residential and commercial.
While presenting these figures at last October’s Solar and Storage Show, the company said the challenge ‘isn’t insurmountable’.
Solving the heat decarbonisation challenge
We asked Christophe what he thinks is needed, in addition to a solar thermal target, to support the energy transition and achieve the UK’s net zero targets; his wish list for the government, so to speak.
These are his top three asks:
- Greater focus on heat decarbonisation rather than the electrification of everything
- Capital support and incentives for local manufacturing and supply
- Capital rebates for big companies
“The new GB Energy wants clean power by 2030, but it’s not just about power. On the supply side we need to support local manufacturing and incentivise local supply. Businesses need access to capital to be able set up and scale factories, doing it through equity is very challenging.
“On the demand side, the commercial and industrial sector is overlooked. In Germany, for example, they have capital grants and if they install large solar heat systems, they can get a 25% rebate on the capital cost. UK governments have historically been against tariff-based systems, but a pot of capital rebates would be a great accelerant.”
Christophe also advocates for the reintroduction of the Renewable Heat Incentive for commerce and industry and the introduction of an advantage for local suppliers, similar to the Inflation Reduction Act in the US.
“Giving a 10% bonus on products designed or made in the UK would provide a huge boost for renewable energy,” he said.
The Naked Energy journey
After 13 years of research, development and patenting, Naked Energy is now poised to really scale up and bring solar thermal technologies to more businesses across the world.
The company has come a long way since Christophe decided to switch careers by taking a punt on an idea he had, financed by his credit card.
With an award-winning career in creative advertising under his belt, Christophe then decided to change course and follow in his grandfather’s footsteps.
Peter Blenheim Williams was a clean energy pioneer of his time, well known for his work on the ‘oscillating duck’ — a wave power technology in the 70s and 80s.
As a child, Christophe remembers his grandfather telling him he was doing his work because fossil fuels will run out and an alternative would be needed.
His father is an aeronautical/mechanical engineer who also has a track record in innovation.
Christophe always had an itch to do something in the climate space and had designed environmentally-focused advertising campaigns as part of his earlier career, including on behalf of the government at the time.
It was when he had a conversation with someone working on solar thermal that the seeds for the new business were sown.
“He really opened my eyes to solar thermal and I became enamoured with it because it’s so clean and pure,” Christophe said.
“I joined with two engineers and came up with the hybrid tube, which is a globally unique product. I proposed starting the company and going for the patent.
“We put all the IP in there and did all the designs and patents, all on my credit card. We got our first recognition from Shell at an engineering competition, winning a £40K cash prize. Then we secured half a million euros in angel funding.
“At the time that felt like all the money in the world – we’ve now raised £27m.”
The company has manufacturing bases in the UK and Europe, and is scheduled to start manufacturing in Dallas, Texas, later this year in partnership with its US distribution partner, ELM Solar.
While the technology is focused on commercial/industrial because it is suited to high hot water usage, residential solutions on a district heating basis are not ruled out for the future.
Going for growth
With the latest investment, Naked Energy is perfectly placed to capitalise on the huge economic opportunity presented by heat decarbonisation and the growing appetite for a totally renewable solution.
The International Energy Agency projects in its latest renewables report that the share of heat from renewable energy will increase by more than 40% worldwide between 2023 to 2028.
Naked Energy plans to accelerate the international distribution of its award-winning technology with the adoption of innovative new business models.
The relationship between E.ON and Naked Energy will also facilitate the provision of Naked Energy’s technology through a Heat-As-A-Service model to a global client base. The two companies are already working on a pipeline of projects across multiple territories.
“Our latest investment shows that the urgency of heat decarbonisation has been recognised and funding to accelerate the energy transition in this way is crucial because it’s not getting enough. E.ON has recognised heat decarbonisation as its number one priority.
So the future certainly looks bright for Naked Energy. All the foundations have been laid and it feels like real growth is coming.
“The crazy thing is it does feel like we’re just getting started now,” Christophe added.
“We are fanatical about heat decarbonisation and the core tech we use – solar thermal and hybrid solar thermal – produces more energy per square metre than any other technology. It’s time to put the metal to the floor, the time to act is now.”
Image credit: Image shows David Browne of Convert Energy who used Naked Energy Virtu tubes as part of the company’s contract to install solar panels across the University of Westminster campus.
