Solivus

Idea

Introduction

The energy and climate crises mean businesses and homeowners are now thinking twice about where they get their energy from and how much they are paying for it. Yet the decision to opt for solar is still far from straightforward.

Solivus are on a mission to simplify the decarbonisation of the built environment with lightweight solar so more businesses and homeowners reduce their climate impact, have more energy security and reduce energy bills.

Solivus are pioneers in lightweight solar tech solutions with solar that is 10x lighter than conventional panels. We open up new markets only made possible with an alternative to conventional solar.

* 40% of commercial buildings have roofs that cannot use conventional solar panels due to weight or fixing issues. Solivus are turning vast unused commercial roof spaces into the solar farms of the future.

* For homeowners looking to reduce their reliance on the grid and take charge of their energy bills without compromising the look of their home, Solivus have designed the Solivus Arc - a super green, ground-mounted solar sculpture. Solivus owns IP through a patent that has been filed internationally for the Solivus Arc which does not need expensive scaffolding to install and can be taken with you when you move home.

* Solivus hold exclusive distribution rights to a range of lightweight solar panels and have signed contracts to secure supplies. We have also developed specialist fixing solutions for different roof types that we now hold IP for.

*We have a team of 19 ready to scale our solutions with an experienced Chair James Bulley OBE who was part of the team responsible for delivering the London 2012 Olympics and Board Advisor Juliet Davenport OBE who founded Good Energy and is the author of The Green Startup.

Substantial accomplishments to date

• Installed on a stadium, airport and warehouse with further agreements for 2023

• Revenue-generating

• Targeting cold storage warehouses, data centres and shopping centres energy usage is high and our lightweight systems are a competitive advantage.

• A pilot in progress with a top 3 UK construction company

• Based on current projections, we believe Solivus could prevent 1 million tons of CO2 and secure energy supply over the next 25 years.

• A pre-order queue of nearly 600 Solivus Arcs which we have achieved with very little advertising, proves that there is a strong demand for this designer solar product. We have progressed our plan for manufacture in the UK, have identified manufacturing materials, methods and locations and preparing to expand the product internationally.

• We have been building a scalable one-stop-solution for building owners offering them engineering, design, finance, installation, monitoring and maintenance.

• Solivus have been recognised as a leading climatetech company having been selected twice for Tech Nation's Net Zero programmes - Net Zero 2.0 and Net Zero X, the Department for International Trade's Green Builders of Tomorrow, and London & Partners Business Growth Programme.

• We have achieved certifications required for our installation businesses including MCS, RECC, NECEIC, SSIP, SMAS.

• Appeared in national consumer press titles including on the BBC’s home page, Forbes, and BBC Click plus trade press titles across the tech industry.

• Our founder Jo Parker-Swift - was named a top 200 female-powered business.

Monetisation strategy

We are scaling two business models side by side as we help more businesses and homeowners switch to onsite renewable energy generation. Solivus is already revenue-generating and here’s how we plan to grow that revenue.

Commercial:

- We are focused on businesses with large commercial rooftops, that cannot take the weight of conventional solar, offering them lightweight solar solutions that save them money and help them decarbonise and reach their ESG targets.

- Our target customers include stadiums, airports, cold storage warehouses, data centres and shopping centres, where energy usage is high and our lightweight solar systems are a competitive advantage.

- We design, install and commission solar systems, offering options on financing should that be required. Our clients pay on a milestone basis with the first payment at the time of signing our installation agreement, and a final payment once the system is switched on. We also enter into long term operations and maintenance contracts which give clients peace of mind for the lifetime of their solar installation (over 20 years) and which provides Solivus with a reoccurring and growing revenue stream as our installation base grows.

- We have a dedicated sales team who nurture direct relationships with all key stakeholders in a project and we plan to drive growth through targeted marketing campaigns to drive awareness with key decision makers in our target markets. We are already progressing plans to expand internationally.

Residential:

- On the residential side, we currently have a pre-order queue of nearly 600 Solivus Arcs. Once the Solivus Arc starts rolling off the production line, Solivus will generate revenue on each unit sold.

Use of proceeds

We're fundraising so we can bring more onsite solar energy generation to more businesses and homeowners who will benefit from lower-than-grid energy costs and decarbonise at the same time.

We believe this is the ideal time to scale a lightweight solar tech company given soaring energy prices, concerns over energy security and the immediate need to decarbonise.

Our focus in the next 12 months is growing our customer base and we’ll need a first-class team to help us to that which is why most of our proceeds will go into growing our team.

• Hiring more people - we hope to attract the best candidates as more people look for purposeful roles in purposeful companies. We want those candidates who care about the energy transition to renewables to join our growing team. Our key focus will be expanding our operations and engineering teams to meet client demand.

• Growing our customer base - we are already growing our pipeline in our target markets and now need to invest in developing our website and in targeted marketing campaigns to drive awareness with key decision makers.

• Exploring Partnerships - we already work with partners who want to embed Solivus as a solution for their customer offering and we are now building partnerships with large asset owners on the commercial side, and installers on the residential side to scale both sides of the business.

• Product and technology - our focus is both to bring the Solivus Arc into manufacture so it can be rolled out across the UK and internationally, as well as further develop our commercial roof fitting technologies. We will continue to innovate and plan to fund development of our wider product roadmap in due course.