Dualsun raises €10M to expand internationally and continue developing its range of products for the energy transition

Development based on viable economic fundamentals

Since its creation in 2010, Dualsun has been very committed to building a viable business model with its customers.

As a highly technological company, we have always invested heavily in research and innovation in order to remain at the forefront of hybrid solar energy and to offer our customers quality products, software and services.

In spite of this, our activity with our customers has always allowed us to control our results, and the company is at break-even since 2021.

More concretely, this latest capital increase brings the total amount of funds raised to €13M, to which should be added €2.4M of research and development funding, i.e. a total of €15.4M since its creation:

Friends & Family in 2012 for 500 k€
Seed in 2014 for €900k
Series A in 2017 with Région Sud Investissement for €1.8 million
Growth capital in 2022 for €9.8 million

These amounts are to be compared with approximately €64.5 million in sales signed since the company’s creation. Thus, the value we bring to our customers contributes much more to Dualsun’s financing than the external financing mentioned above.

A long-term vision, stable and independent management and shareholders

This transaction, led by TiLT Capital Partners and supported by Noria, an expert investor in energy transition and a long-time shareholder of Dualsun, will enable the company to accelerate its development and enter a new growth phase while continuing to rely on the founding team.

TiLT is the energy transition platform of the Siparex group. As a sector fund, TiLT’s mission is to support the development of companies in an acceleration phase by providing its expertise in the energy sector, its support capabilities, particularly internationally, and to support the implementation of ESG policies rooted in the industrial reality of growing SMEs.

This will enable Dualsun to pursue a long-term vision with a stable management team working to meet the challenges of its customers through advanced technologies with long-term development cycles.

The priorities of the fundraising: business development and continuous improvement of our digital panels and services

The first priority is to strengthen the marketing and sales team with the acceleration of demand on the French market.

The objective is also to complete the international development team with a dedicated approach to target markets in Europe, notably in the Netherlands and Germany, which are facing major challenges in terms of energy independence and security of supply. Dualsun is already working in 10 countries on five continents and these additional resources will enable the company to complete and animate its network of partners with a more local approach.

The rest of the funds raised will be dedicated to

Improving the performance of the SPRING and FLASH panel range and reducing their carbon footprint (announcements to come soon on the evolution of the power of our panels),
Further simplify the deployment of solar energy on a large scale in buildings, notably by digitizing the customer experience but also by deploying on a large scale our training program “Poseurs d’Avenir”. Currently, 110,000 new jobs are needed to meet our climate change targets for energy renovation;

Thanks to its rapidly accelerating sustainable development model and its targeted investments in high-leverage projects, Dualsun is more than ever the world leader in hybrid solar energy in buildings, ready to address the challenge of rapidly reducing energy consumption in buildings on a large scale.

ESG policy

This fundraising is also an opportunity for Dualsun to start implementing its ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) policy.

Several actions are already underway on the Environmental front (the “E” of ESG) with progress on both :

Improving the carbon footprint of products sold by the company (Pillar A of Carbon 4’s Net Zero Initiative),
Continuously improving the performance of Dualsun’s solar panels to help Dualsun’s customers reduce their own emissions (Pillar B of Carbon 4’s Net Zero Initiative).

These criteria are an integral part of the company’s performance indicators.

The importance of solar energy in the current energy transition

Solar energy has been placed at the heart of the European energy strategy by the European Commission’s REPowerEU plan.

The importance of solar energy is accentuated by the current geopolitical context. Photovoltaic and thermal solar energy are destined to transform the European and global energy landscape.

Hybrid technology provides a relevant response to the inflation of energy prices, and to the instability and explosion of heating prices. In this respect, the hybrid solar market has grown by 21% in Europe over 2021 and Europe, driven by the French market, is now the world champion in the hybrid market [source: International Energy Agency].

SPRING, an optimized carbon footprint

Thanks to its dual production of domestic hot water and electricity, an installation with Dualsun SPRING solar panels produces twice as much energy as an installation with photovoltaic panels of the same area.

This higher energy density offers the building owner:

Greater financial gains over the life of the installation,
Greater energy autonomy and therefore less consumption from the grid
A better carbon balance

On the financial side, SPRING and FLASH panels offer excellent profitability. However, a SPRING installation costs on average 1.5 times more than a FLASH installation of the same surface. Its profitability is therefore slightly lower, but its environmental benefit is much greater, with up to 3 times more decarbonized energy produced.

This conclusion is drawn from a case study on an installation in France of 8 FLASH vs. 4 SPRING + 4 FLASH, approved by ENEA Consulting in the due diligence phase.

In addition to a necessary search for energy sobriety, installing solar panels is now very profitable since the costs have decreased and the price of energy is increasing.