Canada/Germany – Canadian Solar and SolarWorX, a Berlin-based off-grid solar developer, announced a strategic relationship in which Canadian Solar will invest in SolarWorX as part of its series A investment round.
Seven-figure investment
Canadian Solar is the lead partner, with co-investors EIT InnoEnergy, one of Europe’s leading investors in renewable energy technologies, and DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, a German infrastructure finance institution, also participating. DEG will use funds from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s develoPPP.de program (BMZ). The seven-figure investment would assist SolarWorX in expanding its product line and distribution operations as part of its broader effort to electrify some of the 1.2 billion people that remain without a secure grid link.
Solego is a compact off-grid solar solution from SolarWorX that harnesses and distributes electricity from solar panels. Individual homes, small enterprises, and whole cities may be powered by portable systems of 80Wh or 160Wh battery capacity that can be placed on top of each other. Voice support is also available in local languages such as English, French, Swahili, Wolof, and Fula, and the systems are compliant with all major pay-as-you-go services.
Upside potential
MESH, SolarWorX’s forthcoming smart DC grid technology, has significant upside potential. MESH is a hardware-agnostic device that allows users of Solego and other 12V solar battery systems to conveniently share PV powered energy from 2 to 100 households and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). MESH will be pre-commercially introduced in the market by the second quarter of 2021.
