SolarSub, a solar technology startup developing passive cooling solutions for photovoltaic modules, has raised £1.34 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Sustainable Ventures, with participation from Zinc VC, Scottish Enterprise, Old College Capital, SFC Capital and the British Business Bank, alongside support from Innovate UK’s Investor Partnership programme. The funding supports the next phase of SolarSub’s technical development and real-world validation programme.
Solar PV faces a heat problem, with hotter solar panels generating less electricity and degrading more quickly, which reduces both energy output and lifetime value. SolarSub is developing passive cooling technology designed to keep solar modules closer to their optimal operating temperature. Requiring no pumps or moving parts, the technology increases energy generation, reduces temperature-driven degradation and improves the long-term economics of solar projects.
Previous testing has demonstrated significant performance improvements under high-temperature conditions. Trials at the University of Edinburgh’s FloWave ocean energy research facility recorded an energy uplift of up to 17.5%, while outdoor testing at Heriot-Watt University’s Dubai campus recorded peak gains of up to 19%. SolarSub has already worked with organisations across the solar, utilities and research sectors and is progressing further validation programmes in the United Kingdom and internationally. The funding will also support the expansion of SolarSub’s engineering capability as SolarSub develops the technology for manufacture, certification and commercial deployment.
The funding will support further product development, independent testing and deployments with research, utility and industry partners. Over the coming months, SolarSub, which was founded by two University of Edinburgh Engineering graduates, plans trials across multiple international locations as it works towards commercial-scale deployment. SolarSub is initially targeting the floating solar market, where direct access to water provides a strong environment for passive thermal management, before expanding the technology into the wider utility-scale solar market.
I’d like to thank all of our investors and supporters for backing us as we move into the next stage of SolarSub’s development. It’s been great to see the technology progress from the early days of research at the University of Edinburgh to the point where we’re now preparing for larger-scale trials and commercial deployment.
I am immensely proud of the team in getting to this point. This investment allows us to move from successful technical validation into the next stage of real-world deployment. Our focus will now shift to demonstrating the technology at increasing scale and building out our commercial adoption with industry partners.
The challenge of energy generation is one that, unsurprisingly, remains at the top of our agenda, particularly at a time of increasing price volatility. The solution the SolarSub team is developing stood out to us because, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, they are focused on one simple root of inefficiency within existing solar systems: excess heat. We have been impressed by what the team has achieved to date and are excited to work with them as they deliver the next stage.
Our investment in SolarSub Ltd underscores our commitment to creating an internationally competitive energy transition industry in Scotland. By supporting ambitious companies in areas such as clean energy technology, we can help them drive innovation and capitalise on the significant economic opportunities linked to the shift from the production and consumption of fossil fuels to sources of renewable energy.
