Heliup, a pioneering French startup, has successfully secured €10 million (US$10.5 million) in a recent funding round, signaling a major boost for its ambitious project to establish a 100MW Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact (PERC) lightweight module assembly line in France. The investment round was led by venture capital firm Starquest Capital and supported by innovation group EIT InnoEnergy, French banking institution BNP Paribas Développement, and real estate company IDEC Group. Heliup has also received backing from BPI France, the France 2030 investment plan, and various banks to complete its financing.
The core focus of Heliup's project is the rooftop market, encompassing commercial, logistics, and industrial buildings. The solar modules produced on this new assembly line will leverage PERC technology, with the company expressing its intention to transition to tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) technology “as soon as possible,” according to Yannick Veschetti, CEO and co-founder of Heliup.
What sets Heliup apart is its commitment to developing ultra-light modules combined with a unique integration approach, resulting in a remarkable 60% reduction in the weight of solar power plants. This innovation not only saves installation time but also significantly reduces costs associated with solar power system deployment.
Heliup's groundbreaking technology is based on a patented process developed over three years at the National Institute for Solar Energy (INES), in partnership with the CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission). This process involves conserving ultra-thin glass panels of less than 1mm in thickness and directly bonding the solar panels to the waterproofing membrane. The startup is producing two distinct types of solar modules: “Stykon” for flat roofs, designed to withstand mechanical impact such as hail, and “Lighton” for pitched roofs, with market availability scheduled for 2025.
The new production line is expected to become operational in 2024, with plans to progressively ramp up production to 500MW before 2027, as noted by Veschetti.
Expressing gratitude to investors for their support, Yannick Veschetti stated, “We are extremely grateful to our investors for their continued support of our vision to make solar energy more accessible and efficient than ever. This fundraising will enable us to accelerate our mission to contribute to the transition to cleaner energy.”
While initially focusing on the French rooftop market, Heliup has aspirations to export its innovative solar panels to other international markets in the future. Notably, both EIT InnoEnergy and IDEC Group have been involved in supporting another French startup, Holosolis, which aims to establish a solar module assembly plant in France with an impressive annual nameplate capacity of 5 gigawatts (GW), with commercial production slated to commence in 2025.
