New South Wales-based energy technology company Solar Analytics has bought up the remains of failed PV-sharing startup, Matter. The acquisition comes as Solar Analytics prepares to launch into a second stage of expansion and product development, backed by a new round of fund raising.
In a statement on Wednesday, Solar Analytics said it had acquired the intellectual property and technology of Matter Solar, for an undisclosed sum, “to accelerate its expansion into the automated control of energy appliances for customers with rooftop solar.”
The acquisition includes Matter’s full suite of energy control patents and trademarks, software platform, hardware technology, existing stock, engagement of key technical staff and its ‘Solar for Rentals’ IP.
As we reported here, Matter was placed in voluntary administration in July this year, having established itself as one of Australia’s first solar start-ups to target the nation’s millions of rented households.
One Step Off The Grid first wrote about the startup and its shared energy technology, Digital Solar, in December 2015.
The company’s idea was to allow landlords to install rooftop solar and operate it like a micro-utility by selling the solar generated energy back to their tenants at a cheaper rate than power from the grid.
In a statement on Wednesday, Solar Analytics said that the Matter Solar acquisition had enhanced its own evolution from a solar monitoring platform to a holistic Smart Home Energy Management System, developed in response to the “unprecedented changes” in Australia’s energy industry.
The acquisition will be followed up by a capital raise through equity crowdfunding platform VentureCrowd, that aims to fast-track the company’s sales growth, increase its revenue, launch its world-leading peer-to-peer solar trading platform and execute its second stage international expansion plans.
Solar Analytics CEO Stefan Jarnason said the fundraise would support sales growth through its rapidly growing network of solar partners and increase revenue through a suite of bolt-on features such as energy appliance control being requested by its customers.
“Equity crowdfunding is an opportunity for Solar Analytics to raise strategic capital needed to grow our business and empowering more people around the world to maximise their rooftop solar and increase their savings,” Jarnason said.
“VentureCrowd is the right partner and platform to build the Solar Analytics brand and business, and importantly allows our 700+ solar partners and 20,000 customers to join us in our mission to create a world powered by affordable, abundant rooftop solar.”
Solar Analytics, which was founded in 2015, built itself up on the idea that data is power, and that the more consumers know about their daily energy usage and their rooftop solar systems, the better they can control their costs.
Last year the company upgraded its software to allow customers to plug in a variety of third party components – including battery control and hot water diversion – to create “a smart home energy ecosystem,” delivering more bill savings, including as much as $150 a year on hot water alone.
Solar Analytics has also been awarded $1.9 million in grant funding from the federal government’s Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), targeting “Integrated Smart Home Energy Management, Control and Data Visibility” in partnership with utilites and leading hardware technology providers Wattwatchers, Apricus and SwitchDIN.
Steven Maarbani, co-founder and executive director of VentureCrowd said Solar Analytics was one of the “next generation” of renewable energy businesses, that would allow consumers to monitor and manage their renewable energy.
“With more and more solar systems being installed in Australia there continues to be enormous growth potential,” Maarbani said.
“Investment opportunities through equity crowdfunding is becoming increasingly appealing and we are seeing a growing number of investors joining to invest in the businesses that not only offer strong growth potential but also make a difference to the planet.”
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
