Using solar power in commercial properties could bring in £22 billion in revenue. However, the complicated steps in the process, like figuring out expected earnings and negotiating energy contracts with tenants, have stopped property owners from fully using solar energy. London-based Metris, a solar energy platform uses artificial intelligence to make this easier. It’s designed to help commercial property owners overcome these challenges and take advantage of solar energy, leading to better energy resilience and security.
In a recent development, Metris has raised £2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Octopus Ventures (backed Harbiz and Flock) and Aenu VC. With this investment, the company will launch its end-to-end commercial solar platform in the UK this month to revolutionise how property owners assess, install, and monetise solar energy within their portfolios. This includes an AI-powered portfolio assessment tool for commercial real estate owners and its billing & payments solution.
Unique solar solution for commercial properties
Co-founded by ex-Octopus VC Natasha Jones and software engineer and serial startup founder William Whatley, Metris has created an end-to-end software solution that streamlines and automates the solar energy transition for commercial property owners and enables them to monetise their solar energy whilst cutting carbon emissions.
The platform guides property owners through the entire solar journey, from the initial assessment to installation and ongoing energy management. The platform uses AI to generate comprehensive portfolio assessments and calculate the financial benefits of solar energy adoption in minutes, rather than days.
By replacing this painstaking manual process, Metris enables commercial property owners to maximise the value of their solar installations and generate a reliable new revenue stream.
As per the company, with its solution, commercial property owners could also realise carbon emission reductions of over 14 million tonnes of CO2e every year in the UK, which is the equivalent of taking 7 million petrol cars off the road.
Fabian Heilemann, founder & CEO of AENU, stated: “Operational energy use of buildings accounts for ca. 30% of total global energy-related CO2 emissions. Metris Energy is in a unique position to provide end-to-end solar operations for commercial buildings, by offering everything from property selection and installation to tenant onboarding, billing and payments. This innovation offers property owners a compelling commercial opportunity, whilst also advancing the green energy revolution.”
Hope Johnson, investor at Octopus Ventures, commented: “We are excited to back Metris’ vision to finally align incentives and enable every commercial property owner to generate its own renewable energy and sell this more sustainable, and cheaper, energy to tenants. Natasha and Will are helping commercial property owners reduce their carbon footprint, improve the energy efficiency of their properties, and accelerate the UK towards the large and legally binding commitments that have been made to Net Zero targets.”
