Investors in the pre-seed funding round included founder and CEO of energy storage developer Penso Power Richard Thwaites. Image: GRYD Energy.

GRYD Energy, the solar technology start up that delivered the UK’s “first true” solar subscription, has raised £1 million to fund its national expansion.

GRYD’s subscription model sees the firm fund and maintain a rooftop solar PV system for its 25-year lifespan, enabling homeowners to access the renewable energy generated for a fixed monthly price.

Investors in the pre-seed funding round included founder and CEO of energy storage developer Penso Power Richard Thwaites. GRYD said it plans to use the funds raised to invest in hiring, secure further energy import and export partnerships and expand the firm’s service to provide flexibility services.

The funding comes after a successful pilot tested at three homes in St. Ives, Cornwall, that saw an installation with a capacity of 11.5kWp meet 70% of residents’ energy demand. Additional energy generated from the solar arrays is sold through export agreements that GRYD established with national energy suppliers. 

Shortly after announcing the trial, GRYD signed an export-only power purchase agreement (PPA) with renewable energy supplier and services provider Good Energy, which has just been acquired by Dubai-based smart grid technology firm Esyasoft. The deal was a UK first; it is designed for a portfolio of domestic properties and is not dependent on using the same supplier for both exporting and importing energy.

GRYD said it has “several projects” already commercially committed and it is set to deploy to hundreds of homes nationwide in 2025, aiming to scale its service to 30,000 new-build homes over the next three years.

Mohamed Gaafar, CEO and co-founder of GRYD, said: “With around 250,000 new homes being built in the UK each year, the untapped solar potential of our residential rooftops is immense and only continues to grow – as does the pressing need to ensure that Britain’s new housing stock is future-proofed and primed for a clean, energy efficient future.”

Good Energy’s growth

The PPA with GRYD was but one of Good Energy’s partnerships announced in the last year, with the firm acquiring 100% of both solar installer Empower Energy and Amelio Solar, a solar installation company based in Lincolnshire, in two separate transactions during October 2024.

Good Energy has been expanding its capability in decentralised energy services by expanding its geographical presence in the solar installation market. The regulatory announcement issued by the firm about Esyasoft’s buyout follows an unsolicited takeover offer made in October.

Esyasoft uses artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in a network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, metering systems, and software packages, but has been moving towards becoming a smart “energy as a service” business which covers a wide array of services for its clients.

 Bipin Chandra, CEO and founder of Esyasoft Holding, said of the acquisition: “We have a strong track record of supporting businesses involved in critical energy infrastructure and climate technologies, and therefore our portfolio of services is highly complementary to Good Energy’s.”

The full article on the Esyasoft acquisition is available on our sister site, Current±.