Feld Energy is one of the pioneers in agri-photovoltaics (agri-PV). This method uses agricultural land for both food production and electricity generation through PV systems. This means not only additional income for farmers and greater resilience against harvest failures, but also a contribution to the energy transition.
At the end of 2024, Feld Energy announced the completion of its pre-seed funding round of 1.7 million euros. Just a few weeks later, money is flowing in again. Jochen Engert, Daniel Krauss and André Schwämmlein, the founders of Flix, are investing an undisclosed amount. The company aims to meet growing demand and accelerate growth with the new funding.
Feld Energy is also strengthening its management team. Lukas Zels will join the company as co-founder and managing director. And Bernhard Gruber will also become managing director and lead engineer for agricultural solutions.
Adrian Renner, co-founder and CEO of Feld Energy, comments:
“We are delighted about the investment from Flixbus founders Jochen Engert, Daniel Krauss and André Schwämmlein. Together we want to work towards making our vision a reality, in which electricity generation is in harmony with agriculture.”
And further:
“I am also pleased about the strengthening of our management team through Lukas and Bernhard. Both are extremely experienced executives – Lukas as a serial startup founder and Bernhard as a pioneer in the field of agri-PV who himself pioneered the first agri-PV system on hop fields. Together we share a simple but profound mission: to make agriculture more resilient and sustainable by harnessing the power of the sun. With cutting-edge technology and our experience, we can help farmers secure stable income, generate climate-friendly electricity and reduce society’s dependence on traditional energy sources.”
Lukas Zels is an experienced serial founder who has been active in the international startup scene for over twelve years. He worked for company builder Rocket Internet in various leadership roles in Europe, Southeast Asia and Africa. From 2013 to 2020, Zels led Locafox, a company he founded, which he successfully sold in 2020. He then founded and led Sezzle Europe, a buy now pay later solution. At Feld Energy, he will take care of day-to-day operations as COO.
Bernhard Gruber is a doctoral engineer in process engineering and has built up extensive expertise in the planning and operation of solar parks and agri-PV systems in recent years.
