Sunswap secures prototype funding

United Kingdom-based cleantech startup Sunswap says it recently secured £150,000 ($185,000) in its first round of funding to develop a range of zero-emission products intended to revolutionize transport refrigeration.

“We are delighted to have received financial backing from Sustainable Ventures,” said Michael Lowe, Sunswap’s CEO. “Their track record supporting businesses tackling climate change meant that our values were perfectly aligned and we are pleased to be working with them.”

Sunswap was founded earlier this year to develop new technology to create zero-emission transport refrigeration products that reduce noise and air pollution, the company said. Currently, transport refrigeration units (TRU), commonly used by all major supermarkets, use a secondary unregulated diesel engine to provide cooling. One unregulated TRU diesel engine can produce the same level of emissions as 60 diesel cars. Sunswap deploys electric transport refrigeration technology utilizing energy prediction, adaptive battery capacity and solar power.

The company secured their first round of investment in April, enabling it to build a prototype of the technology. The majority of the funding round was led by Sustainable Ventures, an investment firm committed to financing sustainable startups, with the remaining capital coming from smaller angel investors. The funding will be used to build a demonstrator and support the launch of the first customer trials, Sunswap said.

The cleantech engineering firm was founded by Lowe, Nikolai Tauber (CTO) and Andrew Sucis (COO), who all have a background in transport refrigeration and engineering.

“Sunswap was founded as we recognized that the transport refrigeration market is contributing significantly to the climate crisis, a problem we know is entirely solvable,” Lowe said. “In their current form, transport refrigeration units contribute an unnecessary amount of pollution due to the complete reliance on dirty diesel. At Sunswap we know a zero-emissions future is achievable and will keep working until this is the reality.

“With the UK the first major economy to commit to a net-zero emissions target, the sooner we create the tools to enable this, the better. This funding will enable Sunswap to start building working models of our technology, taking us a step closer to a zero-emission future.”