Oxford PV brightens with $10m series C extension

Solar technology developer Oxford Photovoltaics, a spinout of Oxford University, secured an additional £8.1m ($10.2m) in series C funding on Tuesday from investors including energy company Statoil’s corporate venturing unit.
The second close of Oxford Photovoltaics (Oxford PV)’s series C round comes two months after the company announced a first close at £8.7m, boosting its total haul so far to £16.8m.
Most of the second tranche came from three new strategic investors – Statoil Energy Ventures, Legal and General Capital (LGC), the investment arm of insurance provider Legal and General, and an unnamed backer Oxford PV described as a “technology-focused, innovative family fund”.
Henry Snaith, a lecturer in the physics department at Oxford, founded Oxford PV in 2010.
Snaith and his 37-strong team of chemists, advanced materials scientists and other professionals are working to commercialise solar technology that uses pervoskite, a low-cost mineral composed of calcium titanium oxide. Perovskite-based technology enhances the performance of solar cells by approximately 30%.
The additional capital will be used to speed up the development of perovskite solar cells and support further product research. Oxford PV has already lined up a pilot site in Germany, and this month struck a deal with an unnamed solar panel manufacturer to scale its technology as it prepares to go to market.
Oxford PV previously secured $29.6m in funding, including a $12.6m series B round in October 2015. Its shareholders include Oxford University, investment firms MTI Partners, Longwall Venture Partners, Parkwalk Advisors and assorted angel investors.
Frank Averdung, CEO of Oxford PV, said: “Our perovskite technology now has a clear path and timetable to commercialisation and the formidable support of global market leaders to enable that to happen.”