Philadelphia-based ConnectDER announced that it has raised $35 million in a Series D funding round to expand the market and innovation for its at-home electric vehicle charging and solar panel connection technology. The round was led by by BlackRock and Temasek’s decarbonization-focused fund, Decarbonization Partners.

Founded in 2011, ConnectDER provides technology enabling households to install solar panels and chargers for EVs without requiring an upgrade in the home electricity system, while remaining connected to the grid for power when stored solar-generated power is depleted.

Along with the funding round announcement, ConnectDER unveiled the next generation of its Meter Socket Adapter (MSA), the “IslandDER,” which the company said is designed to seamlessly integrate with the utility grid, and enable islanding of solar, battery storage, EVs, and other distributed energy resources.

Ivo Steklac, CEO of ConnectDER, said:

“With this latest Series D funding we’re poised to not only expand our existing markets but also our offerings by bringing a transformative solution for energy storage systems to the market. Our forthcoming IslandDER enables homes to disconnect and reconnect from the grid enabling customers to harness stored energy from solar plus battery systems or EVs providing innovative backup power and resilience to market at an incredibly competitive cost point.”

In the U.S., 60 million homes lack the capacity for solar, EV-charging, or resilient energy solutions without costly equipment upgrades. According to the company, its system enables households to utilize solar energy at a far lower cost than would otherwise be required to upgrade a home’s service panel and/or pay utility interconnect fees. ConnectDER said it plans to use the funds raised for market expansion, scaling manufacturing, and continued product innovation. Currently there are over 25,000 ConnectDER adapters in use across 22 states. The company said it expects to be selling them across the United States in the next few years.

Decarbonization Partners, which led the funding round, was launched by BlackRock and Temasek in 2022, establishing a late-stage venture capital and growth private equity partnership to invest in companies providing technologies and solutions that help accelerate the transition to a net zero economy by 2050. Also participating in the round were new investors MassMutual Ventures, as well as existing investors Avista Development, Clean Energy Ventures, Energy Innovation Capital, Evergy Ventures, LG Technology Ventures, and Zoma Capital.

Dr. Meghan Sharp, Global Head and Chief Investment Officer of Decarbonization Partners, said:

“We are excited to partner with ConnectDER, which has built an elegant solution that solves a major adoption pain point for customers, enabling and accelerating affordable home electrification in North America. We look forward to supporting the ConnectDER team as they continue executing on their growth journey.”