NRN to scale distributed energy platform ahead of VPP boom
NRN (National Renewable Network), Australia’s leading distributed energy infrastructure platform, has finalised a $67.2 million Series A funding round, one of the largest ever in Australian climate tech. The raise includes equity and debt, with major support from a superannuation-linked fund.
NRN enables energy retailers like Alinta Energy (an NRN-partner retailer) to offer customers solar and battery systems with no upfront costs, repayments, or system maintenance fees. With NRN, retailers can quickly build a distributed renewable energy portfolio and white-label it as their own Virtual Power Plant plan.
This significant capital raise, comprising both equity and debt, is backed by some of Australia’s premier climate technology investors, led by Investible, Virescent Ventures, Electrifi Ventures, Ecotone Partners’ newly established Planet Fund, and a major debt commitment from Infradebt managed funds (including the Australian Ethical Infrastructure Debt Fund). Throughout the raise, Neu Capital has been acting as NRN’s debt advisor.
The Series A also coincides with a massive surge in interest in solar, battery, and VPP plans in Australia, with major government incentives for homeowners who install renewable energy.
“Millions of Australian homeowners want solar but the costs are prohibitive, and every energy retailer wants to scale up their solar energy generation” said Alan Hunter, CEO and Founder of NRN. “Our platform integrates tech, data, capital, compliance, and market access, to neatly solve the problem at both ends. For customers, it’s access to solar with no upfront fees. For energy retailers, NRN can instantly establish or scale distributed energy businesses without capital-intensive balance sheet burdens, while maintaining complete ownership of the customer experience. Our unique model is intentionally structured around empowering partners, never competing with them.”
In the past 24 months, NRN has expanded its network by more than 600 per cent, with over $12 million in renewable energy assets under management and nearly 10 megawatt hours of installed battery capacity. With total funding now exceeding $85 million, the company is positioned as Australia’s trusted, data-driven distributed energy platform. NRN expects to deploy an additional 40 megawatt hours of battery storage over the next 12 months.
NRN’s model allows partners to offer solar and battery systems to households with no upfront costs, no hidden fees, no repayments, and no ongoing system maintenance. This removes the financial barriers for families and enables energy retailers and solar providers to rapidly grow their portfolios without capital exposure.
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