Sheffield based Swedish clean-tech startup secures £125m investment boost

Aira has announced the completion of a €145m (£125m) Series B financing round with climate tech investors from Europe, the US and Asia. The financing was significantly oversubscribed and upsized from its initial €85m target.

The transaction was led by Altor, Kinnevik and Temasek. The equity funding will allow Aira to further accelerate the electrification of residential heating in Europe to enable European households to reduce their energy bills, to drive decarbonisation, and to reduce dependency on imports of natural gas.

The Series B round was led by Altor, Kinnevik and Temasek and also includes the Burda family, Collaborative Fund, Creades, Lingotto, Nesta Impact Investments and Statkraft Ventures.

Aira was originally founded by Vargas and subsequent growth financing included a Series A financing of €35m from a group of investors including Vargas, senior management, a broader group of committed employees, and related individual investors.

The new capital will further spearhead Aira’s ambition to take Europe off gas. There are still 130 million fossil fuel-based boilers in use and consequently, residential heating is the third-largest source of CO2 emissions, representing 10 per cent of Europe’s total CO2 emissions.

By switching from a gas boiler to an air source heat pump with Aira’s “innovative” and accessible, clean energy-tech solution, consumers can reduce their household heating costs by up to 40 per cent and CO2 emissions by 75 per cent, rising to 100 per cent 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 heat pumps. In total, Aira has secured €195m in equity funding and grants, establishing a strong foundation to support its ambitious long term growth objectives.

Martin Lewerth, Aira Group CEO, commented: “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 is investing across the UK to help British households accelerate the important transition from dirty gas boilers to clean heat pumps. Aira research recently revealed that nearly six million British families are considering investing in an intelligent heat pump in 2024 and it’s encouraging to read that sales grew 20 per cent in 2023.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

• Add me on LinkedIn and Twitter to keep up to date
• And follow Bdaily on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
• Submit press releases to editor@bdaily.co.uk for consideration.

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →