Business solar startup MetroElectro raises $1 million

Solar power startup MetroElectro has raised $1 million from its existing investor, Singapore climate tech VC Wavemaker Impact.

The alongside the equity raise, the Melbourne startup, founded in 2024 by Lloyd Heinrich, also secured a $4 million debt facility from Ecotone Partners.

Wavemaker previously backed MetroElectro’s $1.03 million pre-Seed round in May 2024. Heinrich will for to raise an additional $3 million in early 2026.

MetroElectro designs, installs, and maintains solar rooftop systems – panels and batteries for industrial and commercial buildings without upfront costs for tenants or the landlords, generating revenue from sale of the power.

Heinrich, who was Redbubble’s GM of strategy and growth when it listed on the ASX, had the revelation of the potential for deploying solar on commercial buildings while running The Wine Collective (previously The Wine Society).

“This round of funding is the result of a significant amount of hard work by the team in deploying early projects, building a strong pipeline and partnering with industry leaders in knitting together technology that is ready to scale right now,” Heinrich said.

“The investment from The Planet Fund and Wavemaker Impact is an important next step for MetroElectro and we look forward to deploying this capital towards speeding the energy transition.”

His startup now has more than 50 projects in the near-term pipeline, involving more than 20MW of solar and 20MWh of battery potential (power for more than 3,000 homes, with a customer base that includes logistics firm Aramex, forklifts supplier Linde Materials Handling, and roads cleaning business Bucher Municipal.

Aramex operations director Adam Greer said they looked to install rooftop solar their depots, as part of the company’s commitment to ESG.

“MetroElectro gave us a solution that is cost effective and which didn’t require upfront capital,” he said.

Commercial and industrial buildings lag behind residential solar with just 5% adoption. Increasing that to 30% could supply around a quarter of the nation’s electricity demand.

Heinrich said the major barrier to adoption is disagreement between the landlord and tenant over who pays the upfront cost of installing rooftop solar.

MetroElectro manages the financing, design, installation, maintenance, and ongoing ownership, as well as the supply contracts, aligned with tenancy agreements.

Wavemaker Impact partner Marie Cheong  said commercial and industrial sites in Australia, Europe, and the US are an enormous untapped resource.

“If all these rooftops were properly utilised, we could reduce carbon emissions by more than seven times Australia’s annual emissions,” she said.

“Tapping this potential is crucial for developed countries to transition their energy mix to renewables.”