Sweden's Aira raises 150 million euros to expand heat pump rollout in Europe

By Elviira Luoma and Jesus Calero

(Reuters) -Swedish clean energy-tech startup Aira said on Monday it had raised 150 million euros ($174.75 million) in equity from existing backers, as it looks to speed up the rollout of its heat pump systems across Europe.

Founded in 2022 by Vargas, a co-founder of now bankrupt Northvolt, Aira is aiming to tap into demand for alternatives to gas heating.

The European Union is aiming to deploy at least 30 million heat pumps this decade to lessen dependence on imported fossil fuels, although sales in Europe's heat pump market fell in 2023 after a record 2022.

However, CEO Peter Prem told Reuters the company is seeing strong growth across its markets, with government support varying by country, while competition from Chinese heat pumps is present in some parts of Europe.

"What we do...is design our own product and manufacture our own product so we benefit from the manufacturing cost advantage that we have," he added.

The new equity round was backed by existing investors including Swedish investment groups Altor and Kinnevik, Lingotto and Singapore's state investment firm Temasek, Aira said in a statement.

The Stockholm-based company said the funds would be used to ramp up production at its 300 million euro factory in Poland, expand its presence in Germany, Italy and the UK, and to hire and train more installers.

Aira employs around 1,200 people and has reached an annualised sales run-rate of 200 million euros.

Prem said the company was investing in training clean heat experts as one of the biggest operational bottlenecks they faced was finding people with the necessary skills and capabilities.

($1 = 0.8584 euros)

(Reporting by Elviira Luoma and Jesus Calero; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)