Polar Night Energy, a Tampere-based startup, has secured €7.6 million in seed funding to support its innovative Sand Battery technology. Led by Jonathan Oppenheimer, the funding round also included contributions from Stephen Industries, Holdix, Turret, PC Rettig & Co. Impact, and existing investors. The company’s Sand Batteries are designed to store thermal energy, enabling increased renewable energy production and a reduction in fossil fuel usage. With this funding, Polar Night Energy aims to expand its sales and R&D teams, improve its heat-to-electricity conversion capabilities, and benefit from the strategic insights of its new investors.
“We’re thrilled with the results of this round, especially given the current challenges in the financing environment. There’s been considerable interest in our work, with investors recognizing our potential. This has helped us finding the right and most supportive investors. We’re excited to enter a new phase of growth and innovation”, says Polar Night Energy’s Co-Founder Markku Ylönen.
The investment round was led by Jonathan Oppenheimer, and co-led by Finnish investment companies Stephen Industries, Holdix and Turret, and joined by a Swedish family-owned investment company PC Rettig & Co. Impact and a group of existing investors.
Polar Night Energy and Jonathan Oppenheimer share the vision that thermal energy storage sits at the centre of clean energy production. Jonathan Oppenheimer is a South African businessman, social impact investor, and conservationist. He has been appointed to the Board of Directors at Polar Night Energy.
“Jonathan’s vision for building a company was well-aligned with us from the start, leading to a rapid consensus on how financing and company growth should be achieved. His extensive international business experience will be a great asset for us”, says Markku Ylönen.
“I believe protecting our environment and climate is central to our survival as human beings and society. The environment we live in is under threat, and we need to find sustainable ways to thrive while preserving our planet. Polar Night Energy has the potential to be a part of the solution”, says Jonathan Oppenheimer.
It was invaluable for Polar Night Energy to also have strong Nordic industrial players to participate in the funding round. They have an impressive track record of nurturing Finnish companies into international success stories.
“We see that enabling the energy transition requires a significant amount of energy storage technology, and based on our assessment, Polar Night Energy is perfectly positioned to meet this demand”, says Stephen Industries’ Chairman Kustaa Poutiainen.
“The Sand Battery is genius in its simplicity. It’s a great solution to hedge against volatility in electricity prices”, says Jens Söderholm, representing Holdix and Turret.
“The novel and rapidly scalable technology developed by Polar Night Energy provides an opportunity to build a significant and strategic addition to the energy system while supporting our global decarbonisation goals. We are excited to be part of their journey”, says Max von Rettig from PC Rettig & Co Impact AB.
The funds will be used for several key purposes, including growing sales and R&D teams to better cater to our customers’ needs, and advancing our capabilities in converting stored heat back to electricity. Additionally, the new investors will provide invaluable strategic insights and industrial expertise, strengthening our strategic efforts and bringing fresh perspectives to the company.
Recently, Polar Night Energy has achieved significant progress with the announcement of a new industrial-scale Sand Battery project with Loviisan Lämpö, a Finnish district heating company, in addition to a partnership with Ilmatar, a Nordic energy company and independent power producer (IPP), aimed at storing surplus wind and solar energy in large-scale Sand Batteries.
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Originally published on ArcticStartup : Original article