Metris, the first AI-powered solar energy platform for commercial property owners, has raised £2 million in a pre-seed funding round.
The round was led by Octopus Ventures and Aenu VC to revolutionise how property owners assess, install, and monetise solar energy within their portfolios.
Solar energy generation within the commercial property sector represents a £22 billion revenue opportunity. Yet the complex processes involved in the solar adoption journey – from calculating projected revenue to agreeing energy contracts with tenants – has historically prevented commercial property owners from realising their portfolio’s full solar potential.
Metris claims to be the first AI-powered ‘solar economy’ platform created specifically to help commercial real estate owners overcome this hurdle and reap the rewards of solar energy adoption, improved energy resilience and tighter energy security.
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 which streamlines and automates the solar energy transition for commercial property owners and enables them to monetise their solar energy whilst cutting carbon emissions.
EnviroTech 50 – UK’s most innovative green technology creators
The Metris 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.
It also removes the administrative burden associated with selling solar energy to tenants by digitising and automating contracts. 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.
It can take as little as three years to recoup the costs of solar installation, and thereafter property owners can benefit from a substantial passive source of income for over 20 years. Commercial property owners could also realise carbon emission reductions of over 14m tonnes of CO2e every year in the UK: the equivalent of taking 7 million petrol cars off the road.
“We believe that by aligning financial incentives with environmental benefits, Metris holds the key to unlock scale adoption of solar in the commercial property segment,” said Jones.
“With Metris’ AI-powered platform, commercial property owners can easily leverage unused roof space to generate extra revenue and play a crucial part in securing a greener, more prosperous future for the planet.
“We’re at the forefront of the decentralised energy revolution, driving the adoption of solar within commercial real estate, and we’re excited to be joined by expert investors to supercharge our mission to turn every building into a power plant.”
With this injection of funding, Metris will launch its end-to-end commercial solar platform in the UK this month. This includes the launch of its AI-powered portfolio assessment tool for commercial real estate owners and its billing & payments solution.