French solar manufacturer Heliup has raised €16 million to scale up production of lightweight solar panels designed for commercial and industrial roofs with low load-bearing capacity.
Heliup, a French industrial deep-tech company, has raised €16 million to accelerate the large-scale deployment of its lightweight PV technology. The company produces lightweight solar panels designed for existing roofs with low load-bearing capacity and wants to tap into a large, still underutilized market.
The financing round was led by Supernova Invest, with participation from new investors MAIF Impact, Lita Gestion and C2AD. Existing investors Starquest Capital and BNP Paribas Développement also participated, having backed the company in an earlier round. The financing package also includes a crowdfunding campaign through the Lita platform, allowing individual investors to support the project.
Heliup said the funds will strengthen its commercial teams, expand production capacity at its French industrial site, prepare replicable industrial units and continue technological development.
Based in Le Bourget-du-Lac in the French Savoie, the company operates a 4,000 m² factory in Le Cheylas, Isère, which has been operational since January 2025. The factory can produce up to 100 MWp per year, which corresponds to approximately 500,000 m² of panels.
Heliup launched a 10 MWp pilot production line in 2023 under the France 2030 program and previously raised €10 million. In 2025, it expanded to industrial-scale production with support from the European Union Innovation Fund through the SHEEFT (Solar HEliup Energy for Flat roofTop) project.
The company said it plans to create 100 direct jobs by 2027, including 40 already based in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. From 2028, Heliup aims to increase production capacity tenfold as part of efforts to support European reindustrialization and energy sovereignty.
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