University of Edinburgh graduate startup SolarSub has raised £1.34 million for its cooling technology that helps solar panels run efficiently.
The funding round was led by Sustainable Ventures, with participation from Zinc VC, Scottish Enterprise, Old College Capital (OCC) – the University’s venture investment fund, SFC Capital, the British Business Bank and support from Innovate UK's Investor Partnership grant.
SolarSub was founded by School of Engineering graduates Sebastiaan Schalkwijk and James Taylor in 2023 to address an inherent problem for solar panels: as they get hotter, they generate less electricity and degrade faster, reducing their 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.
The funding will support the next phase of SolarSub’s technical development and real-world validation programme, including further product development, independent testing and deployments with research, utility and industry partners.
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%.
Sebastiaan Schalkwijk, CEO and Co-Founder of SolarSub, said:
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.”
James Taylor, Co-Founder and COO of SolarSub, said:
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.”
Edinburgh Innovations provided venture creation support and OCC launch funding. Katharine Fox, Head of Investment at OCC, said:
SolarSub is rethinking how solar installations can produce energy at scale- efficiently and economically. We're proud to have backed this team from the beginning, and are excited to continue supporting the Company in this latest fundraise as they work with international partners to take their technology to the next stage.”
Joshua Armistead-Wood, Investor at Sustainable Ventures, said:
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.”
