Hon. Ed Husic MP (centre) makes IGP announcement at Allume’s manufacturing facility in Melbourne alongside Allume CEO & Co-Founder Cameron Knox (right) and Head of Product Realisation Stella Knorr (left)
DANDENONG, VICTORIA, AUS, 12 November 2024 — Allume Energy announces that it has been awarded $3.8 million through Australia’s Industry Growth Program (IGP). This funding will drive the expansion of the local manufacturing of Allume’s SolShare technology, a world-first solution that unlocks solar energy access for apartment residents.
Federal Member for Chifley and Minister for Industry and Science, Hon Ed Husic MP, visited Allume’s manufacturing facility, SRX Global, to announce this milestone. During the visit, Minister Husic highlighted the importance of solutions like SolShare in addressing barriers to solar adoption in apartments, which comprise a growing portion of Australia's housing landscape.
‘It was a pleasure to host Ed Husic MP for the announcement of IGP funding, which will support the local manufacturing of our world-first solar-sharing technology,’ stated Cameron Knox, Chief Executive and Co-Founder at Allume Energy.
‘We developed SolShare here in Melbourne and now export this Australian-made innovation to three continents. With demand soaring, this funding will allow us to rapidly scale up manufacturing at our Dandenong facility, in partnership with SRX Global.’
Ed Husic commented on social media following the event; ‘It’s been hard to work out who gets to install the solar panels on an apartment block and then who gets that power. Until now. Melbourne’s Allume Energy solved this with a technology solution helping finally share a single rooftop PV system, so apartment dwellers cut their power bill costs.
‘Through our $400m Industry Growth Program, we backed Allume with $3.8m in support to start manufacturing its equipment in Australia!’
The IGP supports Australian small to medium enterprises (SMEs) like Allume that focus on innovation in priority areas, including renewables and low-emissions technologies. The program provides grants and advisory services to help businesses scale up, enhance commercialisation, and contribute to Australia’s industrial capabilities.
Allume’s solar sharing technology, SolShare, is a prime example of Australian-made innovation. SolShare splits solar energy from a single rooftop solar system and shares it fairly between apartments and units throughout a billing period, normally one month.
A broad dataset from Allume’s monitoring portal, SolCentre, shows that apartment residents are reducing grid electricity consumption by as much as 60%, which is significantly higher than the reduction achieved by individual solar systems.
Despite being a relatively new technology, SolShare is already providing over 4,000 apartments with clean and affordable energy across the globe, with exponential growth forecast over the next few years. Allume’s main markets are driving huge demand via favourable regulatory environments and generous policy incentives.
As a result, Allume is gearing up to scale manufacturing for its growing domestic and export markets. Allume’s R&D takes place primarily in Richmond and is commercialised within SRX Global, which is based locally to support the speed and agility of the product development innovation process.
This funding bolsters Allume’s commitment to renewable innovation, keeping manufacturing local and reducing energy inequity worldwide.
Learn more about the Industry Growth Program here.
More than 2M Australians, 15M Americans, and 300M Europeans live in low and medium-rise apartment buildings, with roof space for solar but no way of accessing it. Allume Energy’s world-first solar technology, SolShare™, solves this problem by sharing solar energy from a single rooftop solar system amongst multiple dwellings within the same building. This breaks down the technical and ownership barriers that have historically prevented apartment residents from accessing cheaper and cleaner energy from the sun. Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Allume is rapidly growing in Europe and the US. For more information, visit www.allumeenergy.com.