The Berlin-based climate-tech start-up VREY (RE Joule GmbH) has successfully closed a seed financing round of €3.3 million. Rubio Impact Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and Kopa Ventures are participating in the financing round. As a certified metering point operator and billing partner, VREY specialises in the implementation of tenant electricity models and communal building supply (GGV) – a new regulatory option that for the first time enables an economically attractive and operationally significantly simplified use of solar power in apartment buildings.
With the completed financing, VREY plans to expand its current team of around 20 people in a targeted manner and further develop its platform. The aim is to further strengthen its position as a leading provider of energy solutions in apartment buildings.
“Most property owners want to make their buildings fit for the future. Until now, however, there has been a lack of practicable solutions for this. With VREY, we are making solar in apartment buildings easy and economically feasible for the first time,” says Julius Pahmeier, co-founder and managing director of VREY.
Solar power in apartment buildings becomes economically feasible
Solar on apartment buildings has long been considered a regulatory requirement, but operationally complex and economically unattractive. The role as a full-service energy supplier, expensive metering technology and complex billing processes have long been considered central hurdles. With the introduction of communal building supply, a large part of this complexity has disappeared for the first time – in particular the need to act as an energy supplier itself. This makes a market of over 20 million residential units accessible, which was previously hardly economically accessible.
Infrastructure for energy in apartment buildings
This is exactly where VREY comes in: With an integrated solution consisting of smart meter infrastructure and automated billing, the company is enabling simple and profitable implementation for the first time. VREY is thus positioning itself as an EnergyOS for apartment buildings – a central infrastructure for measuring, billing and controlling energy flows.
This allows property owners to sell solar power directly to their tenants on site and thus generate additional income – while at the same time reducing electricity costs for residents. VREY’s solution enables the integration of storage systems, heat pumps and e-mobility. For the installation of the systems, VREY works closely with local, freely selectable installation companies.
A typical 30 kWp system on a ten-party house can generate around 5,500 euros in additional income per year. At the same time, tenants pay up to 20 percent less for electricity, which corresponds to annual savings of around 120 to 250 euros. In addition to direct savings, electricity costs are easier to plan – a decisive advantage, as volatile energy prices – driven by higher oil and gas prices as well as geopolitical crises – increase the pressure on owners and tenants
Capital for scaling and product development
“For a long time, rental residential buildings were considered one of the segments in the housing market where solar was practically impossible to implement. VREY has developed a quickly scalable solution for this that benefits everyone: tenants reduce their energy costs, owners increase their revenues – without assuming the obligations of an energy supplier – and at the same time CO₂ emissions are reduced. The decisive factor in our decision to lead this financing round was not only the business model, but above all the speed and clarity with which Julius and Cedric implemented it. We look forward to actively shaping the next steps,” says Helmer Schukken, Partner at Rubio Impact Ventures.
Jan Kätker, Investment Manager at HTGF, adds: “Solar in apartment buildings belongs on the roadmap of every portfolio holder today. The decisive factor is a solution that can be implemented without great effort. VREY closes this gap and creates the basis for broad scaling in existing and new buildings. It is impressive what the team around Julius Pahmeier and Cedric Jaeger has already built up – we look forward to accompanying the next steps.”
“The introduction of shared building supply represents an important regulatory breakthrough in Germany and creates a new market environment that requires expertise and implementation. This is exactly where the Vrey team convinces with expertise, pragmatism and speed. From our experience in the real estate sector, we see a strong demand for solutions like Vrey and are happy to support the team in further growth,” says Marius Weckel, Principal at Kopa Ventures.
With the completed financing, VREY plans to expand its current team of around 20 people in a targeted manner and further develop its platform. The aim is to further strengthen its position as a leading provider of energy solutions in apartment buildings.
