Husk Power Systems, a clean technology firm based in the United States, has successfully completed its Series D funding round, raising a total of $103 million.
This includes $43 million in equity financing and $60 million in debt financing.
The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), FMO, Swedfund, Proparco, Shell Ventures, and STOA Infra & Energy were among the investors who took part in the equity round.
On the other hand, a number of financial institutions, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), offered debt financing.
According to the startup, since 2008, it has led the way in promoting rural electrification. Since then, Husk Power has strengthened its business strategy by aiding in the growth of the community mini-grid sector, a kind of dispersed renewable energy infrastructure that provides first-time access to affordable, dependable, clean, and modern power.
This growth includes switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources in addition to increasing access to energy.
Furthermore, Husk Power asserts that it has changed from being a pure-play mini-grid operator to an integrated platform that offers a variety of low-carbon and climate-resilient energy services.
Turnkey commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftop solar, energy-efficient appliance sales and finance, e-mobility, agro-processing, and cold storage are a few of these climate-resilient and low-carbon energy services.
In addition, the cleantech company declared that it would set up 500 solar mini-grids in Nigeria over the course of the following five years. Manoj Sinha, the company’s co-founder and CEO, stated that more than 200 mini-grids had been installed in India and Nigeria.
By using its mini-grids, Husk Power says it has helped over 10,000 MSMEs and stopped 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from pollution.
Over the following five years, it intends to add 300,000 more connections by growing its fleet and reducing 350,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
In the upcoming years, the cleantech company intends to evaluate market growth in a number of countries, including Madagascar, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Husk Power also plans to use this new capital to develop its mini-grid footprint to 1,500 units, having maintained a retention rate of more than 90% over the years and achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60%.
Husk Power predicts that the number of mini-grids in Nigeria will expand 40 times to 500 during the course of the next five years.
The company believes that the funding strengthens its position as a pioneer in offering rural populations in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa an AI-enabled platform of renewable energy services.
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