The crowdfunding campaign, launched on Crowdcube in January this year, saw Sunswap raise £500k in just four days. The funds will be used to finalise the development of their latest generation sustainable Transport Refrigeration Unit (TRU) ahead of deployment later this year. To achieve this Sunswap will be growing the team and moving into larger facilities that will enable the firm to accelerate scale-up.    

TRUs play a vital part in society, being used to transport essential supplies such as vaccines and chilled food, however they currently use diesel engines to keep products cold. Diesel-powered TRUs pollute the environment, are expensive to operate and will become even more costly in 2022 following the Government’s ban on the use of cheap red diesel, increasing costs by 47p per litre of diesel. 

Following the funding round, Sunswap is in the final stages of confirming manufacturing partnerships that will enable the firm to become a major provider of zero-emission TRUs in the coming years. Sunswap continues to build relationships within industry, having already announced this year that they will be working with social impact startup, OX to develop solar powered mobile chilling capability for their zero-emission trucks in Rwanda. 

Michael Lowe, Sunswap’s CEO, said: “The closing of this funding round marks an important stage in Sunswap’s journey, following a significant year of growth for the firm. We successfully built our first prototype, secured government funding and began the expansion of our team. 

“It is set to be another busy year for Sunswap. We are delighted to have a host of new investors on board and are putting in place the foundations that will allow us to scale rapidly as the demand for zero-emission TRUs significantly increases. Engaging industry remains a key focus, we are in discussion with major logistics operators and looking forward to working with these partners to get Sunswap’s TRU technology on the roads this year.”