Consumer energy upstart behind “zero cost” solar and battery offer raises $67.2 million

Leading Australian distributed energy innovator National Renewable Network has closed a landmark $67.2 million Series A funding round, backed by some of Australia’s premier climate technology investors. 

Sydney-based National Renewable Network (NRN) specialises in the development of a platform offering no-upfront-cost solar and battery systems, which are then connected to a virtual power plant (VPP) operated by NRN via collaborating retailers. 

The latest offering, announced just last week, is a new partnership with Alinta Energy called Solar Together, which will offer customers a rooftop solar and home battery system with no upfront cost, no financing, and no repayments.

This week, the company has closed a $67.2 million Series A funding round, which will help bankroll the continued expansion of its marketplace and support system for distributed renewable energy. 

“Our core strength lies in seamlessly integrating technology, data, capital, compliance, and market access, allowing our energy partners to unlock exponential growth,” said Alan Hunter, CEO and founder of NRN. 

“With NRN, retailers can quickly build a distributed renewable energy portfolio and white-label it as their own virtual power plant plan that doesn’t carry a customer conflict of interest.

“This enables energy retailers to instantly establish or scale distributed energy businesses without capital-intensive balance sheet burdens, while maintaining complete ownership of their customer experiences.”

Among the major investors in the funding round is Australian climate techVC fund, Virescent Ventures, which on Tuesday revealed it was the largest equity investor in the debt and equity raise.

“Australia’s transition to renewables has reached a critical moment – without the rapid deployment of battery storage and distributed generation technology, the energy transition will stall,” said Virescent Ventures Partner Blair Pritchard.

“NRN’s business model and technology can help address this by rapidly unlocking additional storage capacity, while democratising access to solar and battery technology. It will help more households benefit from renewable energy and battery technology without the upfront costs, while helping retailers and easing pressure on the grid.

“NRN presents a smart solution for consumers and the energy market, and a big step forward in decarbonising the electricity grid.”

In the past 24 months, NRN has succeeded in expanding its distributed energy network by over 600 per cent and is currently managing over $12 million in renewable energy assets and is approaching a cumulative 10 megawatt-hours (MWh) of installed battery capacity. 

With total funding now exceeding $85 million, NRN is targeting the deployment of an additional 40 MWh of battery storage in the next 12 months. 

The company says it is focused on expanding its role as the connective layer between industry, government, and regulators, enabling widespread access to renewables, strengthening partner businesses, and delivering savings for consumers.

As well as Virescent Ventures, the capital raise was backed by Investible, Ecotone Partners’ newly established Planet Fund, and a major debt commitment from Infradebt managed funds (including the Australian Ethical Infrastructure Debt Fund).

“We’ve backed NRN from Seed through to Series A because we believe they’re building the most important infrastructure layer in Australia’s transition to distributed energy,” said Ben Lindsay, investment principal at Investible. 

“What impresses us most is the strength of the NRN team and their ability to combine deep energy market expertise with a startup culture that delivers.

“From day one, they’ve understood how to navigate the complexity of compliance, capital, and customer experience, while remaining laser-focused on enabling their partners to scale distributed energy solutions at pace. This latest round is a signal of just how critical NRN has become to Australia’s energy future.”