£5.2m invested in Virtu hybrid solar project developed by Naked Energy

• The amount of £5.2m has been raised during the latest fundraising round for Naked Energy’s solar thermal hybrid project. Most of the sum was invested by Earthworm, environmental fund management company, in conjunction with a co-investor – energy holding Taqa.

Earthworm has already invested over £100m in the projects with a prospect of positive environmental and social impact. 

The funds raised are meant for deployment of its new 80-percent efficient hybrid solar solution. 60 percent of solar energy will be converted into thermal energy, while 20 percent will be used to generate electrical power. 

Such a hybrid technology makes Virtu more effective compared to traditional photovoltaic installations. It is claimed to require half the roof area occupied by PV modules to provide equal financial savings.

The developer states this new project is a huge step toward the commercially attractive heat from renewable sources, which will help resolve environmental issues and offer wider choice and affordability to energy consumers. The new hybrid solution expands the choice of surfaces suitable for electricity and heat generation in comparison with the commonly used photovoltaic plants. Such flexibility brings us closer toward the targeted clean energy world. 

Apart from the mentioned investors, the latest round for the project has raised funds from such UK-based investing companies as Syndicate Room (Cambridge), Green Angel (Edinburg), Fonte Capital (Maidstone), and Ethical Fin (London).

The Virtu project has been developed for a few years already. The first funds were raised five years ago from Climate-KIC and EEF. The finances invested amounted to £1m, which is about 1.3m USD. The next year, a deal for scaling-up the production was conducted with Jabil Circuit, an American manufacturing service provider.