German start-up plans “Apple-like” solar stores as it snaps up Australian solar companies

Photo credit: Solaray Energy.

European solar group 1Komma5 has bought into its second Australian company, micro inverter installer Solaray Energy, as part of a planned $100 million spending spree that it says will lead to “Apple-like” solar stores across the country.

Chris Williams, the head of 1Komma5 in the Asia Pacific – and also of Natural Solar, 1Komma5’s first purchase in Australia – said the company plans to spend $100 million as part of an aggressive expansion strategy in the next six months to become the biggest independent solar group in the country.

“The Australia group [of the global 1Komma5 conglomerate] will be the biggest solar company in the country by revenue within the next few months,” Williams told RenewEconomy.

“Part of that will be through the growth of Natural Solar and Solaray, and we are continuing to acquire other businesses around the country.

The European’s first Australian acquisition was Williams’ company Natural Solar in October, Australia’s largest installer of solar batteries, and both are part of an ambitious 80-deals-in-18-months strategy. To date, 1Komma5 has caught 25 companies in Europe and Australia in its widening net.

“All of the acquisitions across the world have grown, have increased profitability, increased revenue, now they are part of a much, much bigger machine,” Williams said. “This is on the back of greater global procurement, better access to supply, and better control and understanding and industry expertise that comes with it.”

Solaray Energy, which launched in 2010, is Australia’s largest installer of Enphase micro inverters and also specialises in Tesla battery solutions to go with rooftop solar arrays. It told a majority stake to 1Komma5 for an undisclosed sum.

Williams expects both Australia companies to benefit from a deepening relationship between Enphase and the global HQ of 1Komma5, which last year pledged to expand each others’ geographic footprints, the former for its inverters in Europe and the latter for the use of its virtual power plant technology.

1Komma5 launched in 2021, and raised more than €200 million in a Series A financing round backed by eCapital, BTOV Ventures, Porsche Ventures, French Eurazeo, Blue Elephant Ventures and the Haniel and Schuerfeld families.

It launched with a goal to sweep up last-mile cleantech companies around the world and, using its market power, drive down prices for consumers and drive up revenues for itself through better supply chain control and better buying power.

Williams says the global company is on track for 30,000 installations this year and plans to double that.

“No other groups have that volume. The key point here is that, again going back to the global procurement scale here and a current run rate of 30,000 installations, it has moved the needle. The 1Komma5 relationship is very important to manufacturers.”

The acquisition spree is also a way to roll out 1Komma5’s in-house Heartbeat home energy management system as well as offer customers across its subsidiaries a way to connect their various devices.

The system creates a mini virtual private power plant at home by connecting batteries, heat pumps and air conditioners, electric vehicle chargers, smart meters and other devices, and manages the buying and selling of electricity from and to the grid.

Jonathan Fisk said he and Peter Thorne co-founded Solaray Energy in 2010 after many years in the IT industry, and had installed almost 100,000 Enphase microinverters and more than 1,000 Tesla Powerwall batteries.

“From day one, we’ve chosen to only install the very best products. It’s this advanced technology that will have the greatest impact in saving the world from a climate catastrophe,” he said in a statement..

 

Rachel Williamson is a science and business journalist, who focuses on climate change-related health and environmental issues.

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