The firm was established in 2019 by mechanical engineer Dr Faisal Ghani to harness solar energy in an affordable, practical way to heat water. Its S400 flat-packable solar thermal collector is one of the easiest and cheapest solar thermal collectors to install in the world – and can be used to heat above-ground pools during the summer months, or provide hot water to camping and glamping sites.

Available to buy on Amazon from 1st September and retailing at £189, SolarisKit has pledged to plant 25 trees globally for every kit sold, through a partnership with Eden Reforestation Project. With ambitious plans to sell up to 160 S200 thermal collectors per week, SolarisKit is set to contribute to the planting of 4,000 trees, offsetting roughly 40,000 kilogrammes of carbon per year.

Amazon Launchpad is an exclusive, invitation-only programme designed specifically for innovative and unique brands to accelerate their growth on Amazon. SolarisKit earned its place in the scheme thanks to founder Dr Ghani’s experience in the Royal Bank of Scotland Climate Entrepreneur Accelerator.

The three-month digital programme delivered the tools, guidance and contacts required to help SolarisKit grow, enabling the team to establish a commercial plan, network, and find investors to back the product. Notably, a seminar on how to achieve B Corp status was also provided through the programme, prompting the company to apply for the prestigious certification. Currently, SolarisKit is a B Corp pending company, with certification expected by the end of the year.

As principal partner of the COP26 conference in Glasgow, RBS recently relaunched its Entrepreneur Accelerator with a climate focus after its ‘springboard to recovery’ report found that supporting scale-ups and a shift towards sustainability could have the potential to help unlock £140 billion in economic growth. The programme underlines the bank’s commitment to reducing the climate impact of its financing activity by half by the end of the decade.

RBS also established a corporate partnership with SolarisKit, becoming its first UK customer, with plans in place to install the thermal collector at its Gogarburn HQ in Edinburgh.

Dr Faisal Ghani, founder and CEO of SolarisKit, said: “This exciting next step in our journey is testament to the valuable lessons learned through Royal Bank of Scotland’s Climate Accelerator. Amazon Launchpad has a keen focus on supporting sustainable and we caught their eye thanks to the bank’s robust support. Through this new partnership, we hope to reach new markets that will enable us to make a real change to rising carbon emissions through the decarbonisation of heat and our reforestation commitment.”

Paula Ritchie, enterprise director at RBS, added: “From trials in Rwanda to the development of a new product combining the thermal collector with a water storage tank, SolarisKit’s journey has been remarkable since graduating from our Climate Accelerator. Amazon Launchpad is set to propel the business to further success whilst contributing to climate change in a meaningful way, and we look forward to continuing to follow Dr Ghani’s journey.”