Aira, a Stockholm-based clean energy-tech company, recently secured €86M (SEK 1 billion) in equity funding from a consortium of climate and innovation-focused investors including Altor Equity Partners, Collaborative Fund, Creades AB, Kinnevik, and Lingotto. Specializing in transitioning Europe away from gas-based residential heating, Aira offers intelligent heat pumps that significantly reduce CO2 emissions and heating costs. This funding infusion will propel Aira’s expansion across Italy, Germany, and the UK, aiming to serve five million homes within the next decade, while creating 10,000 new jobs. Additionally, the capital will facilitate the introduction of affordable monthly payment models, broaden their clean energy-tech portfolio to include solar and energy storage solutions, invest in R&D for optimized customer experiences, and scale up manufacturing capabilities in Poland.
Europe still relies on 130 million fossil fuel-based boilers to heat homes, accounting for 10% of Europe’s CO2 emissions. Switching to an air source heat pump substantially reduces household heating bills and carbon emissions. With Aira’s innovative and accessible solution, households can save up to 40% on their heating costs while simultaneously reducing CO2 emissions by more than 75%.
Aira’s consumer offering is already live in Italy and Germany and will launch in the UK later this year. The first phase was funded with more than SEK 400 million from a group of committed employees, management, and Vargas founders.
Today, Aira onboards a group of climate and innovation focused investors, underscoring its commitment to decarbonise residential heating. New shareholders joining Aira on its important mission include Altor, Collaborative Fund, Creades, Kinnevik and Lingotto.
This additional funding will enable Aira to make further investments to spearhead the electrification of residential heating, drive decarbonisation and reduce energy consumption:
Rapid market expansion across Italy, Germany, and the UK, creating 10,000 new clean energy expert jobs to serve five million homes within the next decade.
Advance Aira’s commercial proposition by introducing an affordable monthly payment model, making home energy solutions accessible to European homeowners.
Broaden Aira’s clean energy-tech portfolio with products and services including solar, dynamic energy tariffs and energy storage, starting with intelligent heat pumps.
Invest in R&D and technology to provide a simple to use energy optimisation customer experience.
Martin Lewerth, Aira Group CEO, says: “We are delighted to welcome our new investors, who all have a track record of scaling impact companies. Our investors join us on our mission to drive the green transition and to take Europe off gas. The funding secured is a key milestone on our journey to serve five million European households with clean energy-tech solutions. With this investment, we will further expand our European presence and accelerate our product and tech development to become a leading direct-to-consumer brand.”
Georgi Ganev, Kinnevik CEO, says: “At Kinnevik, we continue to focus on our generation’s biggest challenge – climate change. Residential heating stands for around 10 percent of the CO2 footprint, and we believe that Europe is at the start of a major transformation towards green energy. We strongly believe in Aira’s vision to connect the full value chain, which allows for stronger margins and a harmonised consumer experience. Bold visions require great execution, and Martin Lewerth and the team have the right combination of experienced leadership and expertise across the critical functions. In addition, with Kinnevik’s experience in scaling global consumer businesses, I believe we can be a strong strategic partner to Aira and add significant value as an early investor.”
Andrew Montgomery, Partner at Collaborative Fund, says: “Our strategy is to invest in businesses that can generate the highest possible financial returns and have the largest climate impact – and we are constantly reviewing initiatives from entrepreneurs, startups, and large corporations. We are excited about Aira’s bold ambitions for clean energy-tech for every home, as residential heating is a prioritised sector from an abatement perspective. We’re also thrilled to be investing in a Swedish company helping to export the Nordics’ leadership in heat pump adoption, innovation, and design.”
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Originally published on ArcticStartup : Original article