Heading to IKEA for some meatballs and easy-to-assemble furniture? You may soon be able to pick up solar panels as well. The Swedish manufacturer plans to invest some $75 million in a handful of cleantech startups, focusing on the areas of solar energy, lighting, sustainable materials, energy efficiency, and water conservation. Ultimately, IKEA has a goal of stocking its shelves with products like ABBA smart meters and Ace of Base solar panels (OK, we made up the names). Any cleantech products offered by IKEA, which hosts half a billion shoppers in its 270 stores in 35 countries each year, will meet the company motto of “affordable solutions for better living,” assures the company’s Johan Stenebo. And what you come across at your hometown IKEA could be dependent on location, says Stenebo: “It’s quite natural that, for instance, solar panels are more interesting to Spaniards and Californians and so forth than they would be to Swedes.”
