UrbanVolt Signs $65m Funding Deal with UK Investment Firm Low Carbon

UrbanVolt, the Irish company which established the Light as a Service (LaaS®) business model, has signed a $65 million funding deal with UK investment company Low Carbon. In the biggest deal of its kind to date, the investment will be used to deliver energy efficiency projects across the US.

The expansion is being driven by the large number of US multinationals in Ireland who are UrbanVolt clients, and are seeking to bring the unique business model to their sites around the world. To date 45 multinational companies have signed up as UrbanVolt LaaS® clients, including Pfizer, Zimmer Biomet, Cargotec and Pipelife.

UrbanVolt and Low Carbon share a common mission to reduce global energy consumption and have a measurable and positive impact on the environment. The greenhouse gas emissions which will be saved as a direct result of this investment is the equivalent of permanently removing every single car which commutes into Manhattan during rush hour.

UrbanVolt delivers Light as a Service (LaaS®) to corporate clients in Ireland, UK, Continental Europe and across the United States. It upgrades commercial buildings to LED lighting for no upfront capital cost, enabling companies to save 75% on their lighting costs while also dramatically reducing their carbon emissions. A proportion of the energy saving is then paid to UrbanVolt as a service charge for the first five years, during which time UrbanVolt also maintains the lights.

This is the first off balance sheet solution which provides innovative energy efficiency solutions at scale and which removes all the friction for corporate clients.

UrbanVolt’s rapid expansion will put increasing pressure on utility companies which are in a death spiral as companies look to reduce their energy consumption and switch to renewable energy. The US Dept of Energy recently released a report which states that if all lights in the US were switched to LED by 2030, the energy savings delivered would be 20 times all the solar power generated in the US in the same time frame.

Low Carbon is a London based, privately-owned UK company, which specialises in renewable energy investment. The firm develops and invests in renewable energy projects and technologies, while also managing assets on its balance sheet for listed and unlisted third parties.

UrbanVolt CEO Kevin Maughan said the new deal will underwrite the company’s international expansion.

“Low Carbon has an excellent record in investing in innovative business models in the energy services sector and we see them as a great long-term partner for UrbanVolt as we look to expand in the US, UK and Continental European markets.

“This deal will ensure that we can deliver thousands more projects each year. In addition, the multi-currency dimension of the financing arrangement is key given that we are working on new projects with a growing list of clients across the US and Europe.

“In the US, there has been huge interest in our ‘off balance sheet’ Light as a Service offering with larger corporate clients and our existing projects with Irish-based US multinationals have proved invaluable in demonstrating the effectiveness of UrbanVolt in delivering large scale energy efficiency projects. We recently opened new offices in Chicago and Florida and we hope to open a further office in California in the near future.”

Dominic Noel-Johnson, Investment Director at Low Carbon, said: “Low Carbon is committed to investing in world class renewable energy solutions which mitigate the negative effects of climate change. UrbanVolt has developed a leading Light as a Service delivery model to help companies realise significant savings through energy efficiencies, without incurring any upfront cost. This has important financial benefits, but also ensures businesses are contributing to sustainably reducing their carbon emissions. We’re delighted to be working with the UrbanVolt team on this journey.”