DAVELE

What DAVELE does

DAVELE is a French agrivoltaic engineering and consulting firm founded in October 2020 in Montpellier by Xavier Bodard, positioned as the first French consultancy specialized in agrivoltaic systems applied specifically to livestock farming (élevage). The company provides B2B services that span the full agrivoltaic project lifecycle — pre-diagnosis (project relevance analysis), feasibility studies (technical, soil and structural analysis), development (stakeholder coordination, system sizing, 20-year economic modeling, and building-permit preparation), and experimental monitoring (3–5 year scientific follow-up of microclimate, vegetation, and animal welfare on operational sites). Its client base covers four primary verticals: farmers/livestock producers, agricultural landowners (propriétaires fonciers), energy developers (producteurs d'énergie), and local authorities (collectivités).

The firm's underlying technology consists of proprietary simulation and decision-support software rather than physical hardware. Key tools include the AVE Simulation tool (configures solar-plant layout against livestock needs and site typology), the OAD decision-support tool (evaluates agricultural, environmental, territorial, and photovoltaic dimensions of a project), the PAC Énergie model (a novel revenue-redistribution framework that caps farm rent at agricultural fermage rates, adds a CRA complement to farm income, and contributes to local agricultural development funds to prevent land speculation), and internal calculators for agricultural-equipment sizing and animal nutritional needs. DAVELE also maintains scientific monitoring protocols that include meteorological stations, biomass and floristic analysis, and GPS-collar behavioral tracking on agrivoltaic sites.

DAVELE operates a sales-led, project-based professional services model, with consulting fees customized to each project's scope. No public pricing exists and no named enterprise customers are disclosed; revenue streams are anchored to multi-stakeholder engagement projects (farmers, landowners, energy producers, collectivités) rather than recurring subscriptions. The company is housed at the Institut Agro Montpellier campus (2 Place Pierre Viala) with a secondary office in Saint Clément de Rivière, was incubated by AgroValo (a joint INRAE Occitanie / Institut Agro Montpellier incubator), holds the JEI label (awarded 15 December 2021), and has built a network of 10+ partners including INRAE, FranceAgrivoltaisme, Synergis Environnement, and regional cleantech / French Tech networks. As of December 2023, DAVELE jointly created subsidiary EDAGRI with Synergis Environnement to manage agricultural development projects end-to-end.

Name

DAVELE

Legal name

Davele

Website

https://davele.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DAVELE is the first French consulting and engineering firm specialized in agrivoltaic systems applied to livestock farming, providing feasibility studies, project development, and experimental monitoring to farmers, landowners, energy developers, and local authorities across France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agrivoltaic Consulting Services

NAICS

Farm Management Services (115116), Support Activities for Animal Production (11521)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Farm Technology Enablement & Data Integration Advisory (FMIS/ERP, IoT, Decision Support) (AFACAJAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Livestock Performance Monitoring Services (Weighing Programs, BCS, Data Capture) (AFACAEAL)

Keywords

• Agrivoltaic consulting
• Livestock solar systems
• Agricultural engineering
• Renewable energy consulting
• Agrivoltaic feasibility studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Montpellier

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Agrivoltaic Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for agrivoltaic projects including pre-diagnostic analysis, feasibility studies, agricultural development coordination, and experimental monitoring. Services span from initial project assessment through permit application preparation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

DAVELE is a French consulting and engineering firm specializing in agrivoltaic systems applied to livestock farming. The company provides pre-diagnostic analysis, feasibility studies, project development coordination (including 20-year economic projections and permit preparation), and 3-5 year experimental monitoring of agrivoltaic sites covering microclimate, vegetation, and animal welfare. Services are delivered directly to farmers, landowners, solar energy developers, and local authorities across France.

Product overview

DAVELE is the first French consulting firm specialized in agrivoltaic systems applied to livestock farming. The company offers a portfolio of consulting services structured around four main pillars: Pre-diagnosis (project relevance analysis), Feasibility Study (technical and soil analysis), Development (system design and permit preparation), and Experimental Monitoring (scientific follow-up over 3-5 years). These core services are supplemented by training, territorial support, and proprietary software tools including a Decision Support Tool (OAD), AVE Simulation tool, agricultural equipment sizing tool, and animal nutritional needs calculator.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pré-diagnostic (Pre-diagnosis) Initial analysis to determine the relevance and viability of an agrivoltaic project, including context analysis, coherence with livestock activities, and farm operator identification. Targeted at farmers, landowners, and energy developers evaluating whether to pursue an agrivoltaic project.
• Étude de faisabilité (Feasibility Study) Comprehensive technical analysis of the agricultural operation and structural, technical, and land aspects of the project to ensure coherence between agriculture and photovoltaics, including soil analysis and development recommendations. Serves farmers, landowners, and energy developers preparing for project advancement.
• Développement (Development) Coordination of stakeholders and design of the agrivoltaic system, including technical sizing of the livestock operation, economic projection over 20 years, and preparation for building permit submission. Aimed at clients ready to move from feasibility to project execution.
• Suivi expérimental (Experimental Monitoring) Scientific monitoring of agrivoltaic sites over 3-5 years covering microclimate, vegetation, and animal welfare/production to build experience and support regulatory development. Targets project operators and public authorities seeking scientific evidence.
• Formation Agrivoltaïsme (Agrivoltaic Training) Training services related to agrivoltaic systems and their application to livestock farming. Targeted at professionals, farmers, and stakeholders seeking knowledge transfer.
• Études agricoles (Agricultural Studies) Agricultural studies and analysis services for agrivoltaic projects. Supports project developers and authorities needing specialized agricultural input.
• Accompagnement territorial (Territorial Support) Territorial accompaniment services for regional stakeholders involved in agrivoltaic projects. Designed for local authorities and regional partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• Farm revenue increase of approximately 60% through combined agricultural and energy production
• +3 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Institut Agro Montpellier (formerly SupAgro)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading French agricultural and veterinary institute. Co-founder of AgroValo incubator and partner in agrivoltaic research. Headquarters located at their Montpellier campus.
• INRAEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment. Co-founder of AgroValo incubator. Partner in agrivoltaic research and development.
• FranceAgrivoltaismemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization promoting agrivoltaic development in France. Collaborative partner for industry standards and best practices.
• BionomeexminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization referenced in company ecosystem.
• AgriSudOuest InnovationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAgricultural innovation network in Southwest France.
• BPPI-FranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization referenced in company ecosystem.
• DERBIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional development organization for renewable energy.
• French Tech MéditerranéeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMediterranean ecosystem of innovative companies supported by La French Tech.
• Cleantech ValléeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClean technology valley initiative in the region.
• Synergies EnvironnementminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental consultancy with 25 years of agricultural studies experience. Creator of EDAGRI subsidiary in collaboration with DAVELE.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sun'Agri: French pioneer of agrivoltaics developing both crop and livestock solar integration projects. Most directly comparable peer as a French agrivoltaic specialist competing for the same developer, farmer, and local-authority engagements.
• TSE: French agrivoltaic developer with explicit livestock and crop canopy solutions, providing engineering, financing, and operations. Closely overlaps DAVELE on the agrivoltaic consulting/engineering layer and increasingly on livestock pilots.

Broad incumbents

• ENGIE Green: French subsidiary of ENGIE focused on renewable energy development including agrivoltaic pilots. A large incumbent buyer/competitor on the developer side of DAVELE's customer base.
• Photosol: One of France's largest independent solar developers, active in ground-mounted PV and increasingly in agrivoltaic projects. Represents the in-house developer capability that competes with DAVELE's pre-development engineering services.
• Voltalia: Listed French renewable energy developer with agrivoltaic initiatives across multiple sites. Competes for the same energy-developer RFPs and increasingly builds internal agronomic expertise rather than contracting external specialists.
• EDF Renewables: Major French renewable developer operating ground-mounted PV and agrivoltaic pilots. Comparable as a counterparty that may either procure DAVELE's services or develop competing internal capabilities.
• RES (Renewable Energy Systems): Global renewable energy developer with agrivoltaic activity in Europe. Comparable as an incumbent developer that may absorb agrivoltaic engineering work in-house or partner with specialists like DAVELE.
• TotalEnergies Renouvelables: Renewables arm of TotalEnergies with active agrivoltaic projects in France. Its scale, R&D budget, and internal engineering teams make it both a potential client and a long-term threat to external specialists.

Others

• Synergies Environnement: Long-established French agricultural-studies consultancy and DAVELE's partner in EDAGRI. Closely comparable on agricultural-study and project-management services, though broader in scope and not exclusively agrivoltaic.
• FranceAgrivoltaisme: National industry association promoting French agrivoltaic development and one of DAVELE's listed strategic partners. Adjacent ecosystem player whose standards and lobbying shape the same market DAVELE serves.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/davelefr
• Facebookfacebook.com/agrivoltaiqueelevage
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/davele-d%C3%A9veloppement-agrivolta%C3%AFsme-%C3%A9levage-et-environnement
• Instagraminstagram.com/davele.fr/?hl=fr

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DAVELE