Founders of Estonian cleantech Solarstone sell their shares to asset management company Biofuel

The founders of Solarstone, an Estonian company developing solar roofing solutions, have sold their shares to their existing investor, Estonian asset management company Biofuel. With the deal, Biofuel has become a major shareholder in Solarstone.

Before the buyout of Solarstone's shares, as of February 26th, 2024, Biofuel owned 18.71% of Solarstone, Sunly Innovation, Estonian renewable energy developer  - 20.73%, while Monosolar (the company of Silver Aednik, Mattis Jürimäe, and Mait Kuk) - 15.53%, Silver Aednik’s forestry company Masitech - 15.53%, Mait Kukk’s engineering company MK1 - 15.53%, and Elukutsar - 13.97%.

Founded in Tartu in 2015 by Silver Aednik, Mattis Jürimäe, and Mait Kukk, Solarstone produces building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) solar roofing solutions that replace existing roofing materials. The startup has also developed solutions that can be implemented as parking spaces, power plants, or electric vehicle chargers in residential and commercial buildings, such as shopping centers, parking garages, airports, and transit stations. 

To date, Solarstone has installed more than 1K solar roofs and has opened a production facility for building-integrated photovoltaic panels in Estonia.

Romet Roosalu will continue as the CEO and a board member of Solarstone, while Andreas Laane, a board member of Biofuel, and Rasmus Udde, co-owner of Sunly Innovation, will remain on the board. The startup's co-founder Mattis Jürimäe will also join the board. 

Solarstone will use the investment to expand into new markets, automate and digitalize production, develop sales, marketing, service, and information technology, and hire new employees with international experience. The company aims to offer monitoring and management of private-sector solar power stations in the future.

In 2019, Sunly Innovation invested €500K in the startup. In 2022, Biofuel was a leading investor in Solarstone’s €10M round. 

Biofuel is an asset management company with a focus on environmentally friendly wood refining and sustainable forestry, emphasizing sustainable energy management and production. The owner of the company is Raul Kirjanen (ex-CEO of Estonian biomass and bioenergy producer Graanul Invest).