German solar cell producer Heliatek has received $27 million (£16.3 million) in a funding round led by venture capital firm Wellington Partners.

Heliatek is a spin-off from the Dresden University of Technology and the University of Ulm and employs 30 staff. The company will be using the new funding to build a production facility in Dresden.

Other investors in the funding round include industrial investor Bosch, as well as venture capital firms RWE Innogy Ventures, BASF Venture Capital, eCAPITAL and Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen.

Dr. Alexander Flaig, vice president of corporate research at Robert Bosch, said: 'Over the course of the past two years, Heliatek has made impressive progress in terms of the efficiency and service life of its organic solar cells. The time has now come to also show just how cost-efficiently these cells can be manufactured under industrial conditions.'

Investment bank GP Bullhound advised Heliatek on the deal.