An energy infrastructure platform that builds virtual power plants (VPPs) using household renewable energy has raised $17 million in a Series A funding round.
National Renewable Network (NRN), an energy infrastructure platform, has raised $17 million in a Series A round led by existing investors Investible and Virescent Ventures. Ecotone Partners also joined in through its new $25 million Planet Fund.
The funding round was boosted with $50 million in debt from ACT renewables infrastructure lender Infradebt, backed by Mike Cannon-Brookes, bringing the total funding to $67.2 million.
Just 13 months ago, NRN raised $1 million in pre-Series A bridge funding led by Investible. Before that, in December 2023, it secured $3.5 million along with a $10 million funding facility from Catalytic Impact Capital.
NRN helps energy retailers like Alinta Energy offer households solar and battery systems with no upfront costs, repayments, or maintenance fees. Retailers can then use these systems to build their own distributed renewable energy networks and brand them as their virtual power plant (VPP) plans.
The company was founded in 2021 by Alan Hunter, who also co-founded the rideshare car subscription service Splend.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
NRN currently manages $12 million worth of renewable energy assets and has nearly 10 megawatt hours of battery capacity installed. It plans to add another 40 megawatt hours of battery storage in the next 12 months.
The new funding will help speed up the launch of its national platform.
The Series A is Investible’s third investment in NRN since its seed round in March 2024, investment principal Ben Lindsay said.
“This latest raise represents the largest investment from our fund to date, underscoring the conviction we’ve built in the team, the model, and the scale of the opportunity,” he said.
“In just over 18 months, NRN has grown its network by more than 505% by solving one of the toughest challenges in energy: making clean energy accessible and affordable for households.”
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