Reonic secures €13 million in funding to support small installers of green technologies like heat pumps and solar panels
However, most installations are performed by small businesses, which could be more productive if they implemented more efficient work processes.
This is where German startup Reonic enters the picture. “We provide renewable installers with the necessary tools to be highly efficient, primarily through planning and workflow software,” stated co-founder Tristan Menzinger.
In the photograph above, Menzinger, Lars-Manuel Schneider (seated in the center), and their university friend and third co-founder, Udo Sill, were all employed at a research institute dedicated to deploying renewable energy.
Their enthusiasm for establishing Reonic was piqued; however, they were compelled to consult with actual consumers to reconcile the disparity between theory and facts.
They concluded that installers required end-to-end software rather than individual instruments.
Startups in other sectors have reached this conclusion; however, selling to the target audience may prove challenging if they already have deeply ingrained behaviors.
Reonic’s commitment is to ensure that installers sell more and sell them quicker, thereby justifying the investment. Schneider stated, “You can double thesales volumes by integrating solar systems with heat pumps, for instance.”
Reonic’s concentration is on renewable energy as a whole, whether that be photovoltaics, energy storage systems, wall boxes, or heat pumps, in contrast to some competitors who specialize in narrower niches, such as solar.
Schneider stated that the overarching objective is the self-consumption of energy by each household or business, rather than a particularinstallation form.
“And this is a fundamental aspect of our product that functions consistently, irrespective of our location.”
Reonic has recently secured a €13 million Series A funding round, led by Northzone, with the participation of existing investors Point Nine and Puzzle Ventures, to expand across Europe.
The promise to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy appears to have resonated with investors.
This aligns with venture capitalists’ preference for climate-focused startups that encounter market risk through their go-to-market strategy, as opposed to the science risk associated with developing a novel technology.
Nevertheless, market risk remains a tangible reality. Aurora Solar, a U.S. company that offers software to assist solar installers in managing their sales, terminated 20% of its approximately 500-person workforce earlier this year following a $523 million revenue milestone.
However, with 21 team members and €16 million in funding, Reonic is more analogous to smaller companies such as Arch, Enerflo, Lun, and Scoop Solar.
The company also reports that it has experienced growth typical of early-stage companies that have achieved some degree of product-market fit, with its recurring revenue having tripled in the past six months.
Schneider stated, Even though we have achieved significant momentum since establishing the business three years ago, we truly believe that we are only beginning to make progress.”
Reonic’s internationalization is motivated by its founders’ conviction that it can access new markets without requiring extensive customization, even though subsidies and other legal frameworks differ from country to country.
Menzinger, who supervised most of the process, stated that it was operational in France and Italy following the DACH region. Additionally, it conducted a soft launch in Italy.
The company’s headquarters are still located in Augsburg, Bavaria. However, nearly half of their staff is employed in Berlin, where they established a second office earlier this year to facilitate the recruitment of international talent.
The new funding round will further support this expansion.
