ROSI raises €7.4 million in equity from the Japanese group ITOCHU Corporation, the European Innovation Council and its historical shareholder InnoEnergy. This fundraising will enable ROSI to finance its first industrial site for recycling photovoltaic panels in France, to prepare its Europe and international expansion, and to strengthen its research, development and innovation activities.
Since 2017, ROSI has been developing disruptive technologies to separate and purify high-purity, high-value raw materials that are currently lost by the photovoltaic industry. Following a remarkably rapid industrial development, ROSI is the first company worldwide to establish an industrial photovoltaic panel recycling line capable of recovering high-purity silicon, silver and copper and reintegrating them into advanced industrial uses.
The fundraising, together with subsidies obtained through the France Relance programme and a loan from BPI France, will enable ROSI to set up its first industrial line, located in Saint-Honoré, in Isère. This plant will be able to recycle 3,000 tonnes of photovoltaic panels. It will be operational in the first quarter of 2023 and will employ 20 people at start-up and around fifty in the long term. In addition, the fundraising and several French and European projects will enable ROSI to strengthen its research and development efforts in order to remain at the forefront of technologies for the recycling of materials from the photovoltaic industry.
The ITOCHU Corporation group has been involved in the development of renewable energy throughout the world for many years. Active in the trade of raw materials, photovoltaic panels themselves, and production equipment, ITOCHU is an expert in the photovoltaic industry and its growth drivers. ROSI will benefit from synergies with ITOCHU's historical activities and will rely on its international network for its expansion.
By investing in ROSI, the European Innovation Council, the European Union's fund dedicated to the promotion of innovations by start-ups and SMEs, is demonstrating its ambition to see European industrial players active in the fields of energy transition and the circular economy emerge and become leaders in their field.
The EIT InnoEnergy's support for ROSI is part of its strategy to structure a European industry of excellence across the entire value chain, from the manufacture of photovoltaic panels to their recycling. The circular economy is indeed crucial for the differentiation and competitiveness of a rejunevated European photovoltaic industry.
ROSI thus marks its passage from a first stage of technological development to a stage of industrial realisation at a new scale.
About ROSI
ROSI is a company based in Grenoble, France, offering innovative technological solutions for the recycling and reuse of raw materials in the photovoltaic industry. Its pioneering technologies enable the recovery and reuse of high-purity silicon and other metals currently lost during the production and end-of-life of photovoltaic panels. ROSI's status as a technological leader is recognised in France by the French Tech's Green20 label and internationally in several European projects.
About ITOCHU Corporation
ITOCHU was founded in 1858 and is one of Japan's leading trading companies. Its divisions are involved in renewable energy production, electricity trading, and the photovoltaic, battery and biomass industries. ITOCHU is engaged in the sale of solar panels in Japan and abroad, the development of solar mega plants and the introduction of photovoltaic power generation equipment for industrial and residential use.
https://www.itochu.co.jp/en/index.html
About European Innovation Council
The European Innovation Council (EIC) was established as part of the EU's Horizon Europe programme. It has a budget of €10.1 billion to support game-changing innovations throughout their lifecycle, from early-stage research to proof of concept, technology transfer, funding and expansion of start-ups and SMEs.
About EIT InnoEnergy
EIT InnoEnergy brings people and resources together, catalysing and accelerating the energy transition. New ideas, products and solutions that make a real difference, and new businesses and people to deliver them to market. Operating at the centre of the energy transition, InnoEnergy build connections worldwide, bringing together innovators and industry, entrepreneurs and investors, graduates and employers.
Contacts :
Mme Yun LUO, CEO
yun.luo@rosi-solar.com
