UK – Solar tech company Sunswap Ltd of London, UK has secured a total of GBP17.3m in investments, money which it will use to fund the rollout of its technology in the British and European markets.

The sum was raised in a funding round led by BGF Investment Management Ltd, a source of venture capital backed by various British banks. Participants in the funding round included existing backers Barclays and the Clean Growth Fund and newcomers Shell Ventures and Dutch venture capital fund, Move Energy.

Sunswap will use the money to support the further development, production, and commercialisation of its technology: solar panels mounted on the roof of a reefer trailer to supply energy to the refrigeration unit, thus reducing the fuel consumption of the whole truck-trailer combination. Sunswap says its product has undergone “rigorous” trials with Tesco and Müller, and orders have been placed by TIP Group and DFDS.