Today, Aira announces the completion of a €145 million Series B financing round with leading climate tech investors from Europe, the US and Asia. The financing was significantly oversubscribed and upsized from its initial €85 million target. The transaction was led by Altor, Kinnevik and Temasek. The equity funding will allow Aira to further accelerate the electrification of residential heating in Europe to enable European households to reduce their energy bills, to drive decarbonisation, and to reduce dependency on imports of natural gas.
The Series B round was led by Altor, Kinnevik and Temasek and also includes the Burda family, Collaborative Fund, Creades, Lingotto, Nesta Impact Investments and Statkraft Ventures. Aira was originally founded by Vargas and subsequent growth financing included a Series A financing of €35 million from a group of investors including Vargas, senior management, a broader group of committed employees, and related individual investors.
The new capital will further spearhead Aira’s ambition to take Europe off gas. There are still 130 million fossil fuel-based boilers in use and consequently, residential heating is the third-largest source of CO2 emissions, representing 10% of Europe’s total CO2 emissions. By switching from a gas boiler to an air source heat pump with Aira’s innovative and accessible, clean energy-tech solution, consumers can reduce their household heating costs by up to 40% and CO2 emissions by 75%, rising to 100% if fossil-free energy is used as the source of power for the heat pump.
In addition to the equity funding, the Polish government has granted Aira €15 million for the establishment of a state-of-the-art manufacturing site in Poland to produce heat pumps. In total, Aira has secured €195 million in equity funding and grants, establishing a strong foundation to support its ambitious long term growth objectives.
The funding will accelerate Aira’s strategy to drive electrification of residential heating in Europe to significantly drive decarbonisation and reduce energy consumption by facilitating further investments in:
Continued rapid market expansion across Italy, Germany, and the UK, supporting Aira’s goal to serve five million European homes with clean energy-tech solutions over 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 intelligent heat pumps, solar panels, battery storage and electricity tariffs.
R&D and technology to provide simple to use and customer-centric clean energy-tech solutions.
The ramp-up of Aira’s manufacturing capabilities in Wroclaw, Poland, to commence production of its intelligent and connected heat pumps in the first half of 2024.
Martin Lewerth, Aira Group CEO, says:
“We are thrilled to welcome our new shareholders. Above and beyond the funding, they bring invaluable strategic insights, networks, and expertise. Together, we are committed to spearheading the much-needed green revolution in residential heating. The completion of our Series B funding makes us well capitalised and ready to accelerate our pan-European platform expansion, significantly reducing both heating bills for households and carbon emissions across Europe.”
Lisa Barclay, Executive Director of Nesta Impact Investments, says:
“For over a decade, Nesta Impact Investments has been dedicated to supporting innovative businesses that address serious social challenges, including utilising the expertise of Nesta’s research to help boost these ventures.
Our investment in Aira brings together our record of supporting purpose-driven businesses with our commitment to reduce household carbon emissions. Aira is making the transition to greener heating more accessible and affordable, filling a gap in the market for heat pumps by providing them without the usual upfront costs and with an end-to-end service from insulation and installation to aftercare. The scale of Aira’s ambitions for the UK market is exactly what is needed to meet the country’s net zero commitments, so Nesta Impact Investments is delighted to be investing to support their business.”
