Frankfurt-based Enviria has secured $200m in equity from BlackRock, cementing Germany’s place as a solar tech hub.
Unlike the country’s two solar unicorns, Enpal and 1Komma5, which provide solar panels to households, Enviria helps businesses source panels, coordinate with suppliers and ensure regulatory compliance.
Founded in 2017, Enviria raised a Series A round in 2022 from investors including Galileo Green Energy, Alter Equity, Redalphine and BNP Paribas. Its latest funding comes from BlackRock’s Global Renewable Power IV fund.
Enviria says that German companies consume 70% of the total national electricity usage, making it a lucrative market for companies building renewable energy supply. It has installed 500 solar systems across Germany and says it has 2,000 in the pipeline, totalling 2.3GW.
BlackRock's infrastructure bets
BlackRock has invested in a number of European climate tech companies, including Enpal and Northvolt, Europe’s best-funded gigafactory startup. BlackRock also backed Arrival, the electric van manufacturer that went into administration earlier this year.
Enviria is part of a new wave of climate tech companies building infrastructure and hardware. Projects are often capex intensive in comparison to software bets, and companies are increasingly looking beyond VC and towards deep-pocketed asset managers and infrastructure funds for investment.
BlackRock’s Global Renewable Power IV is the fourth vintage of its flagship climate infrastructure franchise. The investment into Enviria’s is the fund’s second, after a $500m investment into Canadian solar company Recurrent at the end of January.
Germany claws back its solar prowess
Germany was once home to 54% of the European solar panel manufacturing industry by market share.
But in 2012 the subsidies that had boosted Germany’s solar industry came to a screeching halt and manufacturers could no longer compete with Asian markets. Today, China produces over 80% of global solar panels.
A new generation of solar tech startups are making a comeback in Germany (though they’re focused on solar panel installation and rental, rather than manufacturing). Last year, Berlin-based Enpal secured a €215m Series D raise, plus a €430m debt facility (which, like Enviria, also included money from BlackRock.) 1Komma5, based in Hamburg, raised a €430m Series B round from investors including Eurazeo and Norrsken.
