Berlin-based climate fintech Cloover has secured over $1.2 billion in capital commitments, a massive infusion designed to rapidly expand its energy transition software and financing platform across Europe.
A New Financial Backbone for Europe’s Energy Shift
Teh funding combines Series A equity and a ample debt facility, signaling strong confidence in decentralized energy solutions.
- €18.8 million (approximately $22 million) in Series A equity, led by MMC Ventures and QED Investors.
- A €1.02 billion debt facility,backed by a €300 million guarantee from the European Investment Fund,will fund customer and installer financing.
- The platform aims to streamline financing for solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and other distributed energy technologies.
- Investors are calling Cloover the “Shopify for energy,” highlighting its potential to revolutionize the sector.
The financing package includes €18.8 million (approximately $22 million) in Series A equity, with participation from Lowercarbon Capital, BNVT Capital, Bosch Ventures, Centrotec, and earthshot Ventures. Alongside this equity investment,a major European bank has provided a €1.02 billion debt facility. This debt will be directly used to finance customers and installers through Cloover’s platform,bolstered by a €300 million guarantee from the European Investment Fund to ensure scalable,low-cost lending for clean energy projects.
Cloover, founded in 2023 by Jodok Betschart, Peder Broms, and Valentin Gönczy, emerged from extensive interviews with installers across Europe. These conversations revealed widespread frustration with fragmented software, manual processes, and limited access to project financing. The founders identified a critical gap: while demand for decentralized power was soaring, the necesary financial and platform infrastructure lagged behind.
The company’s platform is designed to bridge that gap.It’s an integrated operating system that consolidates workflow management, procurement, financing, energy optimization, and risk analytics into a single environment for the entire distributed energy value chain. Installers can now offer financing at the point of sale, simplifying operations and reducing administrative burdens.
Homeowners benefit from lower upfront costs and financing terms tied to projected energy savings, rather than relying on customary credit scoring. This innovative approach makes clean energy solutions more accessible to a wider range of consumers.
What problem is Cloover solving? Cloover addresses the fragmented and inefficient financing landscape for distributed energy projects, making it easier for installers to offer affordable solutions to homeowners and businesses.
Some investors now refer to Cloover as the “Shopify for energy,” a testament to its potential as a digital backbone for deploying distributed energy systems at scale. The model centers on scalable capital deployment combined with end-to-end software automation, leveraging AI-driven tools for underwriting and operations.
The timing of this financing is particularly significant. Across Europe, demand for residential solar and decentralized energy is accelerating, driven by regulatory pressures, rising electricity prices, and a broader shift towards electrification. However, installers frequently encounter financing obstacles. cloover’s platform integrates capital directly into the sales process, transforming financing from a roadblock into a seamless feature.
“We want to enable energy independence without the friction of upfront costs or complex loan applications,” stated CEO Jodok Betschart. “Our AI operating system connects stakeholders across the value chain, making the transition to clean energy simpler and more accessible.”
The scale of Cloover’s backing is remarkable for the European climate tech and energy markets. Few startups have successfully integrated software infrastructure and finance at this level, and the substantial debt commitment demonstrates strong lender confidence in distributed energy as a growing asset class. This could set a new standard for financing and accelerating the adoption of renewable energy projects throughout the region-a critical step towards achieving the EU’s climate goals.
