[December 02, 2014]

VENTURE FUNDING - Munich Venture Partners, Chrysalix SET and eCAPITAL Invest Almost US$ 10 million in Sonnenbatterie

Sonnenbatterie GmbH, the German market leader for smart energy storage systems, today announced the closing of a $9.4 million round of equity financing led by new investors Chrysalix SET and Munich Venture Partners (MVP). The investment round also included follow-on financing by prior investor eCAPITAL.

Sonnenbatterie is the German market leader for lithium storage systems with corporate and manufacturing headquarters in Wildpoldsried, Germany, 90 minutes from Munich. The company has sold close to 4,000 units of its intelligent energy storage system to home owners, farmers and businesses since entering the market in 2011. Coupled with a solar energy system, the Sonnenbatterie can meet various electricity demands of residential owners.

"This latest round of financing in Sonnenbatterie signals the growing importance of lithium storage systems in the global energy market. We look forward to working with our new financing partners in Europe and the US to expand the reach of Sonnenbatterie to new markets," said Christoph Ostermann, Managing Director of the Sonnenbatterie GmbH.

Aside from Germany, Sonnenbatterie is also represented in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Luxembourg and Slovakia. In 2014, the company began sales operations in the United States where it is actively recruiting channel partners to serve as Sonnenbatterie Centers.

"Munich Venture Partners is firmly committed to supporting promising companies with high growth potential like Sonnenbatterie. We are confident that the Sonnenbatterie will play a crucial role in the energy infrastructure both nationally and internationally," said Dr. Sönke Mehrgardt, Partner and Managing Director, of MVP.

Rene Savelsberg, CEO and Managing Director of Chrysalix SET, said, "The global energy supply is changing rapidly, bringing with it enormous new market opportunities. Distributed energy stoage is a key element fueling that change. We are impressed by the maturity of the technology and the rapid growth of Sonnenbatterie and are delighted to be able to play a role in funding its future growth."

Dr. Paul Josef Patt, Managing Partner and CEO of eCAPITAL added, "As lead investor, we welcome the participation of our new co-investors MVP and Chrysalix SET. Their expertise, networks, and financial investment will help accelerate and secure the expansion of Sonnenbatterie both at home and abroad."

The market for electricity storage has grown dramatically in recent years and is projected to continue. In this environment, Sonnenbatterie GmbH has doubled sales since 2012 every year, and plans to continue this trend in the future.

About Munich Venture Partners (MVP)

MVP is the cleantech venture capital specialist based in Munich. As an independent venture capital organization it assists today's innovators to become tomorrow's market leaders. Munich Venture Partners concentrates on venture capital for high-tech start-up companies with growth-oriented and profit-generating projects. Its commitment focuses on Europe and on selected international investments. MVP is one of Germany's largest cleantech venture capital specialists. As the Fraunhofer (News - Alert)-Gesellschaft's preferred venture capital partner MVP has insights into new technologies and investment opportunities in promising spin-offs from the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.

About Chrysalix SET

Chrysalix SET is the Amsterdam-based management company of SET Fund I and SET Fund II. These independent Venture Capital funds focus on and invest in European-based early growth stage technology companies that impact the future of the energy sector. The target companies offer a technology, product or service, and/or enjoy a competitive market position with a high upside potential, while impacting the way energy is generated, distributed (including stored) or used (efficiency) . Chrysalix SET's current investments include, among others, AlertMe, General Fusion, MicroShade, NGenTec, EnOcean, LUXeXceL, 4energy and Sefaira.

About eCAPITAL entrepreneurial Parters AG

eCAPITAL AG is a Münster-based Venture Capital Corporation managed by entrepreneurs, which has actively supported innovative entrepreneurs in future-oriented industries since 1999. Its focus lies on fast-growing companies in the segments of renewable energies, renewable raw materials and resource-efficient processes, water technology as well as process engineering / new materials and IT. eCAPITAL currently manages five funds with subscribed capital exceeding €120m and it invests in companies which are in their "later stage" and "early stage" phases, as well as in small SMEs on a national level. For more information, please visit www.ecapital.de.

About Sonnenbatterie

Sonnenbatterie is the German market leader for lithium storage systems. It was founded in April 2010 with technology that was under development since 2008. The company specializes in the development and manufacturing of next generation smart energy storage systems with a storage capacity range of 4.5 kWh to 60 kWh and above. Almost 4,000 Sonnenbatterie units have been sold throughout Europe. The company is headquartered in Wildpoldsried, Germany with offices in Los Angeles, California.

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