Startup funding in India is flowing into domestic solar manufacturing: Surat-based Navitas Solar has secured growth capital of up to $20 million (about ₹190 crore) from Swiss impact asset manager responsAbility to support its entry into solar cell manufacturing, the company announced on October 22.
Backing a 2.2 GW cell plant
The investment, made through responsAbility's Asia Climate Fund, is structured as quasi-equity — a combination of debt and equity — and will be used entirely for capital expenditure on a proposed 2.2 GW solar cell plant involving an investment of ₹1,000 crore. ₹125 crore has already been disbursed in the first tranche, with the rest expected over the next three to four months, Vineet Mittal, Navitas' Director of Finance and Strategy, told The Hindu BusinessLine.
"We are pleased to welcome responsAbility as an institutional partner in the next phase of Navitas's journey," Mittal said. The Surat-based company had previously raised capital from family offices and domestic funds in 2023 and 2025.
The cell plant marks a step toward greater backward integration, with the company also planning to expand into wafer and ingot manufacturing.
Why it matters for founders
As India pushes to cut dependence on imported solar components, ₹1,000-crore cell plants backed by European climate capital show where manufacturing money is going. For cleantech founders, Navitas' quasi-equity structure is worth noting — blended debt-equity is becoming the instrument of choice for capital-heavy climate manufacturing.