Reliance New Energy Ltd, a unit of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd, has topped up its investment in German climate technology company NexWafe GmbH.
NexWafe said in a statement it secured €30 million (Rs 264.2 crore) in a funding round from its existing investors including Reliance New Energy, Aramco Ventures and ATHOS Venture GmbH. Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Keshik Capital, led by his son Alex Turnbull, joined as new investors.
The company didn’t disclose the breakup of the amount the investors committed.
According to the company’s statement, it aims to deploy the funding secured for the construction of its first commercial-scale facility in Bitterfeld, Germany to fabricate its green solar wafers.
“This investment marks the start of NexWafe’s plan to raise larger funds in the second half of 2023. The funds will be used to break ground on NexWafe’s first commercial facility to speed the renewable energy transition with efficient, lower cost, green solar wafers for the world’s photovoltaic manufacturers,” said Davor Sutija, CEO of NexWafe.
The announcement comes more than a year after NexWafe received a $29 million investment from Reliance New Energy as part of its $45 million Series C funding round.
NexWafe designs, develops, and pilots a proprietary process to produce green solar wafers to make photovoltaics more sustainable and efficient. The company, which was spun out from Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in 2015, claims to provide a 70% reduction in energy consumption during manufacturing.
The company said it has also agreed to work with Aramco Ventures on a future green solar wafer manufacturing facility in Saudi Arabia. The agreement will include participation from Aramco’s $1.5 billion sustainability fund.
