Sunmaxx was founded in 2021 by Wilhelm Stein (CEO), Uwe Gey (CFO) & Jiri Springer (CTO). The Germany-based company develops innovative "hybrid photothermal systems" (PVT) to generate both electricity & heat (from solar energy). It addresses the issue that "pure PV systems" only use a limited portion of the solar radiation, with most of the energy lost in the form of waste heat. In contrast, hybrid PVT systems from Sunmaxx allow this heat to be utilized i.e. the heat generated is fed to the heating cycle. This improves the efficiency of the photovoltaic cells. Especially in combination with heat pumps, this approach offers a highly attractive system for the heating of houses, blocks of flats...

Founded in 1994 (& acquired in 2006 by French transport group Berto), France-based Simpliciti is a company that specializes in embedded technologies, offering turnkey software & hardware tools across (mainly) the waste collection value chain (door-to-door collection e.g. smart bins interfacing with garbage trucks to ensure proper sorting, voluntary drop-off points, etc). In that field, the company holds a leading position in France, generating €20m in revenues with <135 employees (& some deployments in Africa as well). Maxime Bérard (CEO) & Arnaud de Régis (COO) have now performed a management buyout (MBO) with the help of Omnes Capital (who usually write €20-40m checks) (transaction terms not disclosed). <Sources: cfnews.net, environnement-magazine.fr, maddyness.com>