Swedish climate tech Aira, which has a UK hub in Sheffield, another to come in the North West and positions itself as ‘the Spotify of heat pumps,’ has completed a €145m Series B financing round with leading climate tech investors from Europe, the US and Asia.
The financing was significantly oversubscribed and upsized from an initial €85m target. The Series B round was led by Altor, Kinnevik and Temasek and the equity funding will allow Aira to further accelerate the electrification of residential heating in Europe to enable households to reduce energy bills, drive decarbonisation, and reduce dependency on imports of natural gas.
There are still around 130m fossil fuel-based boilers in use across Europe 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 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 €15m for the establishment of a state-of-the-art manufacturing site in Poland to produce its heat pumps. In total, Aira has now secured €195 million in equity funding and grants, establishing a strong foundation to support its ambitious long-term growth objectives and drive decarbonisation.
Aira now plans to reduce European 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, said: “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.”
Aira’s research shows that nearly six million British families are currently considering investing in an intelligent heat pump in 2024, while sales grew 20% in 2023. Lewerth added: “Aira is investing across the UK to help British households accelerate the important transition from dirty gas boilers to clean heat pumps. It’s important for us to invest in training and upskill engineers to help us serve one million households across the UK over the next decade. I’m sure with continued government support, Aira will help to secure Britain’s energy needs and reach its net-zero goals.”
