GRYD has just raised £1 million to fund national expansion of the business’ solar subscription model. Investors include Black Seed VC, an early-stage venture firm dedicated to supporting Black business founders, and SFC Capital, a leading investor in disruptive UK companies.
The solar subscription model – a UK first – has been set up to make the savings of solar power more accessible. GRYD is working with developers of new build sites and homeowners to install solar without ever paying for the hardware. The high upfront cost of solar hardware is a fundamental barrier that has prevented millions of households from adopting the technology. It is estimated that 8.5 million UK homeowners have roofs well suited to solar but cannot afford the upfront expense.
GRYD funds and maintains a home’s solar hardware for the 25-year life of the system, saving developers up to £10k in hardware costs per home and enabling homeowners to reap the bill-saving benefits of solar from day one.
Homeowners will then pay one fixed monthly price for 25 years with no upfront costs and all maintenance and insurance included. The average cost for a four-bedroom home is £65 per month.
With new funding secured, GRYD will continue its new homes focus, looking to scale to 30,000 homes in the UK over the next three years. It will look to expand into retrofitting in the future.
Scott hopes that the startup will be a major driver in the UK’s transition to clean energy, setting a standard for residential solar – making solar energy accessible to all new homes with the launch of the UK’s first true solar subscription: “I believe GRYD’s unique model positions our team to address this challenge on a national scale – lowering the cost barrier of solar and unlocking access to affordable clean energy for millions more households.
He added:
“It quickly became clear through our market research that the current ownership model for solar deployment wasn’t working. So, we decided to set about developing one that would work for everyone.”
Testing is now underway with a three-home pilot project currently in progress in Cornwall. The system has already produced a 15% reduction in residents’ energy bills, eliminating 1.2 tonnes of CO2 emission per home annually. The software is now set to be scaled to 30,000 new homes nationwide over the next three years, providing increased environmental benefits.
After studying Civil Engineering at Loughborough and graduating with a first-class degree, Scott worked as a civil engineer on several projects based around nuclear power stations, airports, and seaports, as well as housing developments. His passion for technology developed during his time working in a tech hub in India and started learning about coding, product design, and startup operations independently.
Excited about his new opportunity, he added: “I decided to enter the startup world, leading tech and product teams at climate focused startups. I spent most of this time as the Head of Product in a startup that was building a logistics and sustainability platform for construction sites.
“In my previous work I’d always felt like a tiny cog in a giant machine. Now, I had an incredible amount of autonomy and impact on the company’s success. I had to learn very quickly and troubleshoot things essentially on my own. It exposed me to a lot of pressure but also a lot of opportunities for ownership - and I absolutely loved it. During my time there developing the platform, we helped over 400 construction sites across the UK and the US to reduce their carbon emissions by about 30%.”
Scott met his fellow co-founders, Mohamed Gaafar and Tom Jordan, while participating in a startup residency run by the venture capital firm Antler: "We initially came together around the goal of having impact at scale on people and the planet. In terms of how we could make that impact, we decided to focus on the energy transition due to our combined experience across energy, construction, technology and sustainability."
Speaking about his experience as a student at the University, Scott commented: “My time studying at Loughborough was hugely formative for me. I learned an immense amount across a broad spectrum, I met many interesting people - some of whom are still my closest friends today - and I developed both my confidence and entrepreneurial spirit.
“My civil engineering degree was the foundation that led me down the career path that has taught me so much and has ultimately enabled me to grow into a founder and start this exciting journey with GRYD.”