backing from Lukasz Gadowski, the prominent entrepreneur and venture capitalist, and several board members of the Zalando fashion conglomerate.

Enpal’s co-founders initially developed a sales-based business model, where end-users could purchase PV systems. Early market research suggested that a lease model would attract more uptake from customers who didn’t want the hassle of high investment costs and maintaining the solar system by themselves.

The company settled on a 20-year lease term, which proved wildly successful during the first few years of its existence. Its lease agreements require no upfront payment from the customer and include installation, insurance, maintenance and other services.

Rapid growth and expansion

For most of its history, Enpal focused on the German market, first around its hometown of Berlin and later throughout the whole country. During the late 2010s and early 2020s, the company opened several satellite offices in an effort to provide responsive, localized sales and service to customers across the country.

In 2021, Enpal opened a state-of-the-art training center for solar PV installers, where it trains its rapidly growing team of craftsmen. The company now has more than 200 local installer teams, whose members make up the bulk of Enpal’s employee roster, and a robust, efficient supply chain.

Enpal’s key backers have included major impact investors and climate-tech venture firms, including Princeville Climate Technologies, Softbank Vision Fund II, TPG Rise Climate, HV Capital, The Westly Group, and Activate Capital. Co-founder Mario Kohle remains a managing director of the company. Fellow co-founders Jochen Ziervogel and Viktor Wingert (the current Chief Investment Officer) remain deeply involved as well.

Enpal has won a number of awards over the years, including first place in the German Sustainability Prize Next Economy Award 2022, first place in the 2023 Smart Home Germany Awards, a 2023/2024 Stern Companies of the Future award, Die Welt #1 Service Champion in Customer Service Award, and KfW Award for Entrepreneurs 2022. The Enpal app was also awarded as Germany’s best solar management app. The company has also been among Germany’s fastest-growing companies in 2022 and 2023 based on the FT1000 ranking.

Enpal today

Today, Enpal has installed more than 60,000 solar PV systems across Germany and Italy.

As of late 2022, Enpal is recognized as the market leader for solar PV installations in Germany. The company’s 2022 revenues exceeded 400 million euros on a headcount of more than 1,000 employees.

After pivoting away from the sales model and focusing on leased systems for most of its history, Enpal added back a sales option in 2023 to accommodate customers who want to buy their solar solution. Either model can save the customer tens of thousands of euros over the course of a system’s 20- to 25-year useful lifespan, according to company data.

Enpal has also diversified its product offerings in recent years. It now offers all-in-one renewable energy solutions consisting of solar panels, battery, wallbox, heat pump and energy management system.