Top 10 Solar Energy startups

Updated: March 12, 2024

Solar energy startups are at the forefront of developing innovative technologies such as next-generation solar panels, thin-film solar cells, concentrated solar power (CSP) systems, and solar energy storage solutions, aiming to increase the efficiency, affordability, and scalability of solar power generation, accelerating the global transition towards clean, renewable energy and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
1
Country: USA | Funding: $20.2B
Tesla accelerates the transition to electric mobility with a full range of increasingly affordable electric cars. Tesla also produces Solar Roof, home batteries and operates large solar stations with energy storage.
2
Country: USA | Funding: $3.2B
Sunnova provides low-cost solar power to homes. It owns the equipment, installs it, and also eventually sells the electricity it creates to customers.
3
Country: Germany | Funding: €2.2B
Enpal is a photovoltaics leasing firm that provides solar power systems for homeowners with no money upfront.
4
Country: India | Funding: $1.9B
Avaada Energy is committed to provide affordable, clean and abundant power for India. For us, it is a new journey. A journey fuelled by our passion for sustainable energy and backed by our credentials and the trust of our stakeholders.
5
Country: USA | Funding: $1.6B
Silicon Ranch developer, owner and operator of solar energy facilities in US.
6
Country: USA | Funding: $1B
Pine Gate Renewables is a U.S. developer of 2-25 MW utility-scale solar farms.
7
Country: USA | Funding: $907.5M
Recurrent Energy provides distributed solar power that makes renewable energy a practical choice for large scale energy users.
8
Country: Israel | Funding: $840.3M
BrightSource Energy designs, develops, and deploys solar thermal technology to produce high-value electricity and steam for power, petroleum, and industrial-process markets worldwide.
9
Country: Brazil | Funding: $736.5M
Atlas Renewable Energy, a renewable and clean energy startup that develops, builds and operates solar and wind projects in Latin America
10
Country: Kenya | Funding: $707M
Sun King is one of the largest solar companies in Africa and Asia
11
Country: USA | Funding: $700M
AES Distributed Energy creates solar plus storage facilities, which includes systems that can hold and release solar energy at will.
12
Country: USA | Funding: $628.3M
Palmetto is the leading clean technology software and fulfillment company.
13
Country: Kenya | Funding: $536.4M
M-Kopa Solar provides customers with solar lamps that can also recharge their mobile phone or radio.
14
Country: USA | Funding: $523.5M
Aurora Solar is a SaaS company that uses aerial imagery to assess solar installation projects.
15
Country: USA | Funding: $466.6M
SoloPower is a producer of thin-film photovoltaic cells and modules that help solar electricity generation and adapt to virtually limitless site-specific applications.
16
Country: UAE | Funding: $465M
Yellow Door Energy is a leading solar developer. Yellow Door Energy manages all stages of the solar plant and you pay a monthly solar bill once the solar plant starts producing electricity.
17
Country: USA | Funding: $345M
Silicor Materials manufactures solar-grade silicon and aluminum products.
18
Country: USA | Funding: $332.6M
Heliogen’s mission is to create the world’s first technology that can commercially replace fossil fuels in industrial processes with carbon-free, ultra-high temperature heat from the sun and to transform sunlight into fuels, including hydrogen, at scale.
19
Country: Tanzania | Funding: $315.5M
ZOLA Electric designs renewable energy solutions based on the latest in solar, battery and power electronics technology. ZOLA Electric’s solar systems can be bought over time using PAYGo micro-finance leasing and mobile money payments. ZOLA Electric powers more than 180,000 homes and businesses across Tanzania
20
Country: China | Funding: $248.2M
Jinko Solar is an energy company that focuses on producing solar energy micro-crystalline silicon.
21
Country: Norway | Funding: $246.8M
Otovo is an energy company that offers solar panels and installation services for commercial and residential properties.
22
Country: Italy | Funding: €222.5M
Sunprime is a fast-growing Independent Power Producer based in Italy focused on Solar C&I, and smart homes segments.
23
Country: UK | Funding: $215M
BBOXX designs, manufactures, and distributes plug and play solar systems. It also offers pay-as-you-go solar power. BBOXX Power DC product range is closed DC systems in standardised sizes. BBOXX Hub brings the smart capabilities of remote monitoring and control to larger capacity systems and projects. BBOXX Pulse is a comprehensive management platform that enables growth of next generation utility businesses.
24
Country: USA | Funding: $203.4M
SolarReserve is a leading global developer of utility-scale solar power projects, which include electricity generation by solar thermal energy and photovoltaic panels. In addition, SolarReserve has commercialized a proprietary advanced solar thermal technology with integrated molten salt energy storage that solves the intermittency issues experienced with other renewable energy sources.
25
Country: USA | Funding: $198.3M
Tigo Energy provides smart module technology for the solar industry.
26
Country: Germany | Funding: $174M
ZOLAR is an online provider of solar systems enables the entry into the private energy supply for private households.
27
Country: Israel | Funding: $154.8M
SolarEdge Technologies, global leader in the DC power optimizer market. SolarEdge developed the DC optimized inverter solution that changed the way power is harvested and managed in photovoltaic (PV) systems. The SolarEdge intelligent inverter solution maximizes power generation while lowering the cost of energy produced by the PV system, for improved RoI.
28
Country: UK | Funding: $152.2M
Oxford PV is the technology leader in the field of perovskite solar cells.
29
Country: USA | Funding: $144.5M
Husk is the leading net-zero energy company serving rural Africa and Asia and operator of the largest fleet of community solar minigrids.
30
Country: USA | Funding: $123.7M
1366 Technologies develops high-performance silicon wafers.
31
Country: Lithuania | Funding: $123.8M
PVcase is empowering solar farm/system designers with a data-driven platform to help them optimise the design process and assess the viability of commercial and utility-scale power plants.
32
Country: Canada | Funding: $90M
dcbel offers AI-driven sustainable technologies which enable people to leverage solar energy to power their cars, homes, and lifestyles.
33
Country: USA | Funding: $75M
Ubiquitous Energy is developing a special kind of “solar glass” designed to convert sunlight into electricity, minus the traditional photovoltaic panels.
34
Country: USA | Funding: $75M
Terabase Energy is a web-based tool that reduces cost and deployment timelines by digitalizing the solar power plant.
35
Country: USA | Funding: $67M
Ojjo offers a new way to approach solar foundation design. Solar foundations using driven piles are not optimized for solar-specific load conditions, so they require a lot more material than necessary. Ojjo’s Earth Truss system offers a more efficient use of material because the loads are resisted by the strong axes of the structure.
36
Country: Mexico | Funding: $63.8M
Bright is a solar-power subscription business that aims to offer homeowners with renewable energy.
37
Country: Spain | Funding: $57.4M
SolarMente installs and finances solar rooftops in Spain
38
Country: Canada | Funding: $53.1M
Morgan Solar develops concentrated photovoltaic module, which features the industry’s most advanced optical designs and is up to 15% more efficient than conventional solar panels, and two-axis tracker, which offers significantly higher ROI compared to conventional fixed-track systems because it can be set up and serviced manually rather than having to use cranes and heavy machinery.
39
Country: Israel
Energiya Global develops affordable solar projects worldwide, with the goal of providing clean electricity for 50 million people by 2020.
40
Country: China | Funding: $50M
ET Solar Group is a Chinese photovoltaic company providing solar modules and related photovoltaic solutions worldwide.
41
Country: USA | Funding: $50M
ComboCurve is a Fintech business that focuses on good predictions and cash flow analysis in the energy sector.
42
Country: Congo | Funding: $49.3M
Nuru is a renewable and environment company that specializes in the fields of storage micro-grids and solar energy.
43
Country: USA | Funding: $45.3M
ConnectDER make products that integrate power and data from residential scale DERs into the grid.
44
Country: Australia | Funding: A$67M
5B’s design enables customers to add solar resources at a pace that is three times faster while providing up to two times more energy within the same footprint of traditional solar facilities
45
Country: Netherlands | Funding: €40M
Soly is a solar energy startup that provides energy equipment to make solar energy accessible to everyone.
46
Country: UK | Funding: £35M
Exagen Group is building the next generation of utility scale solar farms co-located with grid-balancing battery storage facilities.
47
Country: Sweden | Funding: €35M
SunRoof is a start-up developing fully solar 2-in-1 roofs and facades as well as solutions to support smart energy management.
48
Country: Kenya | Funding: $37.3M
SunCulture sells the AgroSolar Irrigation Kit, an entirely solar-powered drip irrigation system. The kit combines solar water pumping technology with high-efficiency drip irrigation and includes everything a farmer needs to grow more while spending less, in a sustainable and energy-efficient way.
49
Country: Canada | Funding: $33.8M
Solantro’s chipsets and platforms turn solar panels into integrated power generators and allow for the management and storage of renewable energy. The chipsets are designed and built specifically to measure, process and drive complex power architectures from distributed energy resources
50
Country: Indonesia | Funding: $33M
Pioneer in the solar lease business. Giving Indonesian businesses a chance to contribute to the solution climate change while saving money