Organic PV startup Eight19 wins £1.3m funding

19 Jul 2017

Investment expected to progress profitability of OPV business, develop new thin-film technology to boost efficiency of Si photovoltaics.

Eight19, a developer of solar energy harvesting solutions powered by flexible organic photovoltaics (OPV), and a spinout from the University of Cambridge, has announced it has been awarded a further £1.3m of investment (on top of the £1m tranche it won in 2014).

Lucros Investment (Netherlands) joined existing investors IP Group, Clarium and Providence in the latest round. The new investment follows two busy years of what the company described as “continued improvement in OPV performance, advances in manufacturing readiness and an increased engagement with customers in the retail, FMCG and IoT sectors.”

'New technology breakthrough'

Claudio Marinelli, Eight19’s General Manager and VP Business Development, said, “The additional funding will allow us to accelerate commercial engagement with customers through the delivery of complete energy autonomous solutions utilizing our flexible OPV.”

“The new funding will also enable the company to accelerate the commercialization of a recent technology breakthrough at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University, which could enhance the efficiency of conventional silicon solar panels by up to one quarter.”

Nick Stokman, Investment Manager at Lucros Investment, who joins the board of Eight19, commented, “Based on our experience in the renewable energy market, we believe that Eight19’s commercialisation expertise in thin film manufacturing, coupled with the ground-breaking photophysics innovation from Sir Richard Friend’s group at the Cavendish Laboratory, can deliver an exciting and disruptive product in the field of photovoltaics renewable energy.

Robert Trezona, Head of Cleantech at IP Group commented, “We are excited by the progress Eight19 is making with commercialisation of their OPV business. Their work with Cambridge University on thin film technology to enhance the performance of conventional silicon solar panels is highly innovative and has huge business potential.”