NRMA backs energy upstart as solar offerings extend to “batteries on wheels”

Energy retail upstart Amber Electric has snagged a big-name new investor in its latest round of fundraising, with Australia’s largest mutual organisation, NRMA, joining a $13.4 million Series B extension.

Amber said on Monday that its Series B funding round has been led by existing investors including Commonwealth Bank and Square Peg, and brought in NRMA for the first time.

The retailer says NRMA – whose member services include vehicle roadside assist and insurance – comes on board at a crucial time in Australia integration of electric vehicles into the energy transition.

“NRMA … can clearly see Amber’s value in supporting electric vehicle owners optimise the charging of their cars – and eventually … in helping EVs also be utilised as home batteries,” said Amber co-founder and co-CEO Dan Adams.

NRMA general manager of investments, Ainsley Lee, says Amber’s value proposition “closely aligns” with NRMA’s own ambitions of increasing Australia’s electric vehicle adoptions.

A retailer with a difference

Amber, which launched in late 2017, offers a retail electricity deal where households pay the real-time wholesale price for electricity from the grid, plus a small hedging cost (<1c/kWh) which helps underpin a price guarantee, or cap.

https://reneweconomy.com.au/nrma-backs-energy-upstart-as-solar-offerings-extend-to-batteries-on-wheels/