General Motors (GM) Ventures, the corporate venturing division of the US-based automotive conglomerate, has invested $7.5m in US-based solar energy company Sunlogics. Sunlogics was acquired by the US-based publicly traded green energy company Salamon Group, in May.
The deal follows GM Ventures’ investment in a clutch of environmental energy-based firms, including US-based cleantech companies Sakti3, Envia Systems and Bright Automotive.
Alongside the funding, Sunlogics has signed a power purchase agreement to install solar panels at GM facilities and purchase the energy produced. GM also signed commercial agreements with Sunlogics to install solar-powered canopies at GM facilities and Chevrolet dealerships.
The scheme has already been put into practice at GM’s factory in Zaragoza, Spain where solar energy companies Veolia Environment and Clairvoyant Energy installed the largest roof-based solar array in the world, in 2008. GM is currently laying the scheme out across its European factories and Sunlogics will replicate the practice in GM’s US factories.
Jon Lauckner, president of GM Ventures, said: "Global solar energy use is predicted to more than double by 2016, so we believe that investing in renewable energy is a smart and strategic business decision. The Chevrolet solar charging canopy project complements our electrification strategy that started with the Chevrolet Volt by helping our cars live up to their fullest green potential."
Lauckner continued: "The investment in Sunlogics allows GM to strategically partner with a leading solar developer and operator that can help GM drive the use of solar, specifically large-scale solar installations at our facilities," Lauckner said. "Sunlogics was the ideal choice because it is a vertically integrated company that has a global footprint."
Sunlogics adds GM to its partnerships with US-based consumer products and batteries manufacturer Energizer and UK-based energy concern International Power. Sunlogic plans to use the capital to establish corporate headquarters in Detroit and to open manufacturing facilities in the US and Canada.