Federal Funding Supports Home-Grown Solar-Sharing Tech

Melbourne’s Allume Energy has been awarded a significant grant for its solar-sharing technology through the Federal Government’s Industry Growth Program.

The vast majority of Australia’s 4 million+ solar panel installations are on stand-alone or semi-detached homes; while apartment dwellers miss out for the most part. Allume Energy’s SolShare addresses this by enabling multiple apartments to share a single solar system.

How SolShare Works

In a (very small) nutshell, as electricity is transmitted from a solar system, it enters the SolShare unit, which “splits” this energy based on demand in the building. It automagically distributes electricity across the building, which may be in equal shares, or varying allocations depending on requirements.

SolShare connects to each circuit behind an apartment’s existing smart meter, and any excess energy not used by an apartment is sent back to the grid, where feed-in tariff credits can apply. The solution is compatible with apartment buildings with 5-60 units.

SQ’s Ronald wrote up a SolShare review a couple of years ago going into more detail. Kim added his 2 cents last year about whether SolShare is worth it – looking at the pros and cons of installing SolShare compared to  individual rooftop solar systems. Between those two articles and the comments that followed, you can get a pretty good idea of how it all works.

Industry Growth Program Cash

Yesterday Allume Energy hosted Federal Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic at its SRXGlobal manufacturing facility and announced it was receiving $3.8 million funding through the Industry Growth Program (IGP). The cash will help scale the local manufacturing of SolShare in Melbourne.

“This funding marks a significant step forward for our company, helping us to grow, create local jobs, and power a cleaner, greener tomorrow,” the firm said.

The IGP provides an Advisory Service for startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating within one of seven priority areas of the Australian Government’s National Reconstruction Fund (NRF), which includes renewables and low-emissions technologies. After working with an Industry Growth Program Adviser, firms can apply for funding – grants of $50,000 to $250,000 to support early-stage commercialisation projects or $100,000 to $5 million for commercialisation and growth projects.

Allume An Australian Solar Success Story

Allume Energy has enjoyed many accolades for its tech, winning a bunch of awards such as a Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Award in 2021.

Recently the company stated round 1 of the Victorian Solar for Apartments program approved more than 1,000 apartments with its SolShare technology. With Round 2 under way and soon to close, the company is no doubt hoping to do well from that too.

Allume Energy has also spread its wings beyond our shores, with offices in the UK and USA. The company says it now providing shared solar energy to over 4,000 apartments across five countries and three continents.

But even just locally, there’s a huge potential market for Allume.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census data, there were 10,852,208 private dwellings counted – an increase of nearly one million since 2016. Separate houses accounted for 70 percent of dwellings, apartments 16% and town houses, 13%.

“The proportion of apartments continues to increase, with apartments accounting for nearly one third (30.9 per cent) of the increase in private dwellings since 2016,” states ABS.

More than 2.6 million people, or 10.3 per cent of us, were living in apartments says the Bureau.