Founded in 2011 and located in Blanquefort (Gironde), Sunna Design is a pioneer in solar street lighting and energy management for connected autonomous applications. A Bordeaux-based GreenTech company with the FrenchFab label, the company designs, develops and manufactures sustainable, connected solar streetlights in France. Present in more than 60 countries, we bring public lighting to rural areas without electricity and also accompany the development of smart cities.
In 2016, Sunna Design acquired a 4.0 factory with a production capacity of 100,000 streetlights per year.
Based on innovative technology protected by numerous patents, we improve the lives of citizens with solar and connected lighting solutions that meet the many economic, environmental and social challenges of communities and organisations:
Innovation is at the heart of the Sunna Design project, which is why we place it at the heart of our development. Innovation, yes! But not at any price! Not to deny the past and rush headlong into technological conquest. We’re in favor of sensible innovation that improves people’s lives and daily routines without damaging living things. All-in-one, high-power, hybrid and connected solutions. Our response is multi-faceted, and must be adapted to the challenge of each project.
We act with cooperation and consideration, integrating the existing ecosystem, and relying on local partners with whom we share the same values. We improve and create wealth in each territory, enabling them to regain control of their energy production, boost their economic fabric and redistribute this value for the betterment of their region.
Our solutions and products make a real contribution to the new environmental challenges, because they embody an alternative to traditional lighting and demonstrate our responsibility. And it’s also because we provide pragmatic solutions that respect every player in the value chain and every region that we are the alternative with environmental, economic and social impact. More than just a strategy, our model is a complete response to new environmental, societal and governance challenges. We want to be the innovative, responsible business model that contributes to a more virtuous future: a model for the future.
Sunna Design’s mission is clear: to light up and connect the world sustainably is to contribute to a better future by taking into account the issues that affect society and all our stakeholders: users, customers, advisors, employees… A player that shows intelligence by respecting local players in its market, that thinks globally but acts locally. A manufacturer focused on innovation to help towns and cities become more sober and responsible. A company that radiates because it provides a fair and intelligent response to the challenges our societies face.
START-UP
Sunna Design was founded in Bordeaux in 2011 by Thomas Samuel and Gaël Esnaud, following work in India on rural electrification issues.
During the period 2013-2017, Sunna Design focused on developing a technology to make solar lighting robust and reliable. To achieve this, the company has carried out several fundraising campaigns for a total of 14 million euros and has launched first commercial deployments, mainly in Africa.
Since the company’s inception, its industrial innovations and exemplary achievements have won 11 international awards, including the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Award in 2017 and the Zayed Sustainable Prize in 2018.
TRANSFORMATION
Ignace de Prest took over the management of Sunna Design in 2018 with the mission of steering and structuring the company’s transition. The company focuses on its core business, the cost structure is optimised and the Moon est business is transferred to Thomas Samuel who takes over the management – while maintaining a commercial mission for Sunna Design.
The company is transforming with the ambition to become a global player of reference: strengthening of the management team and the sales team, geographical repositioning in target markets always including Africa but also mature geographies, development of the portfolio of solutions towards modularity and services to adapt to customer needs, optimization of the supply chain around the industrial tool of Blanquefort (in Gironde), definition of a commercial policy favouring local partnerships.
GROWTH
With the acquisition in 2020 of SOL Inc., the North American leader in solar lighting since 1990, Sunna Design is accelerating its growth in mature markets and complementing its portfolio of solutions with Evergen ranges, and local manufacturing tools in the United States. Sunna Design therefore has the most comprehensive and competitive solar lighting offer on the market, from the compact all-in-one product to high-power modular solutions, as well as unique expertise in services.
In 2021, Sunna Design signed a 40 million euro contract with the Togolese government for the supply, installation and maintenance of 50,000 solar street lights in non-electrified rural areas. This is a turnkey project, for which Sunna Design has also structured a financing, provided by the French Treasury Board. Sunna Design’s solutions were showcased at the Grande Exposition du Fabrique in France at the Elysée where the company represents the Gironde department. A second contract is signed on an African country.
SCALE-UP
Sunna Design strengthens its presence in Southern Europe, starting with France, Spain and Italy, always with a local presence and networks of partners. The American team is also strengthened, while the context of the energy crisis reinforces the value proposition of solar lighting.
The company is actively developing a portfolio of projects of national scope on the African continent. In 2022, Sunna Design signed an agreement with the Communes and United Cities of Cameroon (CVUC) for the supply of 100,750 street lamps for the benefit of decentralized local authorities.
General Director / CEO
Sales Director
Chief Financial Officer
Marketing Director
R&D Director
Director of Major Projects & Execution
