Aira
The market
Heat pumps represent a EUR 1 trillion market opportunity in Europe alone, with strong tailwinds including government fueled subsidies and changing consumer preferences and behaviors. With residential heating accounting for around 10% of Europe’s CO2 footprint, decarbonising European homes would dramatically reduce emissions and cut energy costs.
The company
Aira has a bold vision to drive the adoption of clean energy technology by accelerating the electrification of residential heating, with intelligent heat pumps at the core of their business. Over time, the company’s goal is to offer a complete range of products, including heat pumps, batteries, solar panels, and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, all integrated within an intelligent ecosystem.
To ensure the best customer experience, Aira is implementing a vertically integrated business model that spans from heat pump production to customer acquisition, installation and logistics to financing and energy management. The end-to-end approach aims to achieve an attractive price point, high sales conversion rates, and superior customer satisfaction.
As today's value chain is characterised by low levels of vertical integration and a high level of fragmentation, especially in the sales, installation, and logistics parts, Aira's approach also addresses current market constraints - including capacity limitations, installation bottlenecks, high total ownership costs, limited financing options, and low customer awareness.
The Investment Case
When we first met with the Aira team in 2023, we were actively looking to invest in the heat pump sector. Rising energy prices, increased consumer climate consciousness, and supportive regulations and government incentives suggested that this already large market would enjoy strong tailwinds.
From the start, we have been impressed by Aira’s exceptionally strong management team and their bold vision of building Europe’s leading clean-tech company. In addition, we are intrigued by their approach of being vertically integrated, which allows a significantly improved user experience as well as structurally better unit economics and margin profiles.
