Maxsolar develops, builds and operates systems for itself and for third parties.
(Photo: MaxSolar)
Frankfurt The Upper Bavarian photovoltaic developer Maxsolar has received 410 million euros from the infrastructure investors Infranity, I Squared Capital and Rivage to implement solar projects with a total output of two gigawatts. The company focuses on photovoltaic systems on open land and on the roofs of commercial properties.
Like some of its competitors, Maxsolar is benefiting from the boom in renewable energies. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, companies and private customers have shown great interest in solar systems and heat pumps. In order to meet the strong demand, companies are building up their capacities. Competitors such as Enpal and 1Komma5 Grad had recently collected investor funds of 215 million euros each in financing rounds. Rival Energy Concepts Germany (EKD) is currently also looking for new donors. While these companies are primarily focused on end customers, Maxsolar primarily addresses commercial customers.
The fresh money flows at Maxsolar in the form of so-called mezzanine financing, a mixture of debt and equity. In addition, Maxsolar wants to raise 1.6 billion in additional debt for the planned projects, as CEO Christoph Strasser tells the Handelsblatt.
The company develops, builds and operates plants for itself and for third parties. After commissioning a larger system in September, Maxsolar will have around 200 megawatts of its own electricity production. Projects with 400 to 500 megawatts per year are planned for the following years. The pipeline of planned projects totals 6.5 gigawatts. Overall, the company has already installed photovoltaic systems with an output of one gigawatt.
Maxsolar has a good 200 employees. “The bottleneck in solar energy is the construction capacity,” says Strasser. “We have enough specialists for this and also help local craftsmen with issues such as the certification of photovoltaic systems.”
The Traunstein-based company, which also has locations in Berlin and Hamburg, is 65 percent owned by the private equity firm Nature Infrastructure Capital, which belongs to the London hedge fund Covalis. The rest belongs to the company Greenvolt, which has been listed since 2021 and was founded by João Manso Neto, the ex-CEO of the renewable energy subsidiary of the Portuguese utility EDP.
When Maxsolar was sold by the founders to the investors in 2022, the company was valued at 75 million. 85 percent of Maxsolar’s business comes from solar energy, the rest from projects in the area of local heating or electricity storage.
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