Cloover from Berlin has secured more than $1.2 billion.

      Today, Berlin's energy transition sector received a significant boost as Cloover, a Berlin-based climate fintech, announced it has raised over $1.2 billion in total capital commitments. This amount combines Series A equity with a substantial debt facility aimed at accelerating the expansion of its software and financing platform throughout Europe.

      The financing package consists of €18.8 million (approximately $22 million) in Series A equity, spearheaded by MMC Ventures and QED Investors, with involvement from Lowercarbon Capital, BNVT Capital, Bosch Ventures, Centrotec, and Earthshot Ventures. Additionally, a €1.02 billion debt facility from a major European bank will be utilized directly for customer and installer financing through Cloover’s platform, supported by a €300 million guarantee from the European Investment Fund to facilitate scalable, low-cost lending for clean energy projects.

      For a company that was in seed-stage fundraising just a few years ago, the magnitude of these commitments represents a significant transition. The debt component provides operational capital intended to assist manufacturers, installers, and homeowners in financing solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and other distributed energy technologies within a cohesive system.

      Cloover was established in 2023 by Jodok Betschart, Peder Broms, and Valentin Gönczy, who developed their concept after interviewing numerous installers across Europe and encountering similar frustrations: disjointed software systems, manual procedures, and limited access to project financing. They recognized a structural gap in the energy transition; while there was a surge in demand for decentralized power, the financing and platform infrastructure necessary for scaling did not keep up.

      Cloover’s platform aims to bridge that gap. Its core is an integrated operating system that merges workflow management, procurement, financing, energy optimization, and risk analytics into a single environment serving all segments of the distributed energy value chain. This allows installers to provide financing at the point of sale, streamline operations, and minimize bureaucratic burdens.

      Homeowners benefit from installations with lower upfront costs and financing terms linked to anticipated energy savings instead of relying on traditional credit scoring.

      Some investors now refer to Cloover as the "Shopify for energy," a digital backbone that underpins the entire process of deploying distributed energy systems on a large scale. The model revolves around scalable capital deployment alongside end-to-end software automation, including AI-powered tools for underwriting and operational processes.

      The timing of this financing is significant. Across Europe, the demand for residential solar and decentralized energy solutions is growing as regulatory pressures, rising electricity costs, and wider electrification trends drive households and businesses towards cleaner alternatives. However, installers frequently encounter financing obstacles. Cloover’s platform integrates capital directly into the sales process, transforming financing from a barrier into an embedded feature.

      In a statement, CEO Jodok Betschart described the new financing as a means to achieve energy independence without the burden of upfront costs or complicated loan applications, emphasizing that the company’s AI operating system links stakeholders across the value chain.

      For European climate tech and energy markets, the scale of Cloover’s support is exceptional. Few startups in this field have connected software infrastructure and finance at such a level, and the size of the debt commitment indicates strong lender confidence in distributed energy as a growing asset class.

      This could set a potential precedent for how renewable energy projects might be financed and adopted more rapidly throughout the region, a crucial aspect recognized by both policymakers and industry leaders in achieving the EU’s climate objectives.