Discover Energy

What Discover Energy does

Discover Energy is an Australian privately held energy retailer headquartered in Sydney, founded around 2018-2020 by Co-CEO Anson Zhang and linked to One Stop Warehouse, the country's largest wholesale distributor of solar and battery equipment. The company sells electricity and gas plans to residential and small business customers across NSW, SA, VIC, QLD, ACT, and Western Australia through a digital-first platform consisting of a multilingual website (English, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai), a mobile app with bill-upload analysis, WeChat support, and a 1300-number phone sales and service line. Its regulatory foundation rests on an Australian Energy Regulator-aligned hardship policy, Privacy Act 1988 compliance, and GreenPower accreditation, with licensed retailer status (ABN 20 619 204 750) under the National Energy Market.

The company's core technology and differentiation is its proprietary Virtual Power Plant (VPP) platform — a cloud-based software system that integrates with more than ten major inverter and battery brands (Growatt, FoxESS, Solis, Alpha ESS, GoodWe, Sungrow, SolarEdge, AISWEI, Bytewatt, eStore) at the 2-28kWh capacity range. The VPP enrolls home solar-battery systems into a managed trading network, dispatching stored energy back to the grid during peak demand in exchange for premium feed-in tariffs (up to 30c/kWh, with a 25c/kWh VPP export rate under the NSW BESS2 program) and 50%+ profit sharing with customers. A machine-learning Smart Feed-in Algorithm forecasts household load, generation, weather, tariffs, and wholesale prices to optimize export timing, while the DE App learning engine automates battery charge/discharge decisions and delivers personalized energy-saving advice via Smart Insights. The platform also extends to EV Smart Charging Plans and a Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) program, with smart-home voice integration across Alexa, Siri, and Google Home.

Discover Energy monetizes through three primary streams: (1) standard retail margin on electricity and gas sales to residential and SMB customers; (2) the wholesale buy/sell spread captured during VPP demand-response events and Peak Reduction Certificate trading under the NSW PDRS BESS2 scheme; and (3) hardware-discount and commission economics from its VPP Channel Partner program, which recruits solar installers (One Stop Warehouse-linked) to drive VPP customer acquisition. Acquisition is product-led via the website's compare-plans tool and bill-upload feature, supplemented by channel-partner referrals, paid digital marketing, WeChat, and inside sales. Recent operating history includes a temporary suspension of new market-offer sign-ups in May 2022 driven by a 141% year-on-year wholesale price spike, from which the company recovered, and ongoing rollout of new product modules (EV/V2G, BESS2) and geographic expansion into Western Australia.

Name

Discover Energy

Legal name

Discover Energy Pty Ltd

Website

https://discoverenergy.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Discover Energy is an Australian digital-first energy retailer offering electricity and gas plans alongside a proprietary Virtual Power Plant (VPP) platform that enables residential solar-battery owners to trade stored energy back to the grid for premium feed-in tariffs and shared trading profits across five states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Electricity and Gas Retail: Standard energy retail model selling electricity and gas to residential and business customers. Customers pay for energy consumption based on variable rate plans or time-of-use tariffs.
2. VPP Energy Trading: Revenue from trading stored battery energy back to the grid during peak demand periods. The company earns from the spread between wholesale buy/sell prices during VPP demand response events.
3. Feed-in Tariffs: Revenue from solar feed-in tariffs paid to customers for excess energy exported to the grid. Customers receive credits on their bills for exported energy.
4. VPP Partner Program: Commission-based model where channel partners (solar installers) receive commissions for each client registered to the VPP program. Partners also access hardware discounts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Discover Energy is an Australian licensed electricity and gas retailer that sells energy plans to residential and business customers across NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, and ACT. Its differentiated offering is a proprietary Virtual Power Plant (VPP) cloud platform that connects compatible household solar and battery systems to enable automated energy trading back to the grid, premium feed-in tariffs of up to 30c/kWh, profit-sharing on energy trades, and smart battery management via the DE Mobile App.

Product overview

Discover Energy is an Australian energy retailer offering electricity and gas retail services combined with smart energy management technology. The company's core offering is its Virtual Power Plant (VPP) platform — a cloud-based software system that turns homes with solar and battery into trading assets. The VPP platform connects to compatible battery/inverter systems (FoxESS, Solis, Alpha ESS, Growatt, GoodWe, Sungrow, SolarEdge, etc.) to enable energy trading, premium feed-in tariffs, and automated battery management. Additional products include the DE APP for solar monitoring and trading, BESS2 VPP program for NSW battery rebates, EV Smart Charging Plans, Vehicle2Grid (V2G) program, GreenPower renewable energy plans, and a Channel Partner Portal for solar installers. The portfolio integrates smart home assistants (Alexa, Siri, Google Home) and mobile payment options (WeChat, Apple Pay, Google Pay) for customer convenience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Cloud-based software platform that connects household solar and battery systems to create a virtual power plant, enabling automated energy trading, premium feed-in tariffs, and smart battery management. Designed for residential and small business customers in Australia with compatible battery systems (2-28kWh).
• DE APP (Discover Energy Mobile App) Multi-lingual mobile application for solar monitoring, energy trading, battery management, and bill payment, with learning algorithms that automatically optimize battery charging/discharging and personalized energy-saving advice.
• Electricity and Gas Plans Electricity and gas retail plans for residential and business customers, including solar plans, GreenPower renewable energy options, and VPP-specific energy trading plans. No lock-in contracts with standing offer pricing across multiple Australian networks.
• BESS2 VPP Program NSW Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) program for residential and small business battery owners to earn rebates by connecting 2-28kWh home batteries to Discover Energy VPP. Includes up to $400 sign-up credit, 25c/kWh VPP export rate, and 50%+ profit sharing on energy trades.
• GreenPower Government-certified renewable energy add-on allowing customers to purchase 10%, 20%, or 100% of their electricity from certified GreenPower generators (solar, wind, hydro, waste).
• EV Smart Charging Plans Smart charging plans for electric vehicles using proprietary algorithms to determine optimal charging times based on off-peak periods and user charging needs.
• Vehicle2Grid (V2G) Program allowing EV owners to use their electric vehicle battery as backup power for homes during emergencies and participate in VPP energy trading during high-demand periods.
• VPP Channel Partner Program Partner program for approved solar and battery installers providing exclusive hardware discounts, client sign-up commissions, and access to the Channel Partner Portal. Partners install systems from eStore, GoodWe, Sungrow, Alpha ESS, SolarEdge, FoxESS, Solis, and Growatt.
• Channel Partner Portal Online portal for approved VPP channel partners to register clients, generate VPP energy plans and quotes, manage accounts, and track commissions.
• Solar and Battery Solutions Solar system and battery installation services connecting customers with verified DE VPP solar installer partners for new installations, upgrades, and quotes.
• Moving House Service Energy connection transfer service for customers moving homes, including free reconnection and online move tracking.
• Energy Trading Platform Prosumer energy trading service enabling households with solar and battery to buy and sell electricity in real-time, discharge stored energy during peak demand for maximum returns, with up to 30 cents/kWh feed-in tariff and real-time price movement charts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 30c/kWh feed-in tariff (highest in market)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration16 records

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• GrowattcoreTechnology or Integration · 3 March 2022Full API integration of Discover Energy's VPP with Growatt inverter systems. Growatt is one of the world's top 10 inverter brands and No. 1 residential inverter supplier globally. Compatible models include SPH series hybrid inverters (3000/4600/5000/6000)TL and TLBL-UP variants, and GBLI 6531/6532 lithium batteries. Over 460,000 Growatt inverters installed in Australia since 2010.
• Solar Battery CentralcoreTechnology or IntegrationAccredited Certificate Provider (ACP) for the NSW BESS2 program under the Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS). Solar Battery Central acts as the Capacity Holder for residential batteries enrolled in Discover Energy's VPP, creating and trading Peak Reduction Certificates (PRCs) on behalf of customers.
• One Stop WarehousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent organization founded by One Stop Warehouse - Australia's largest wholesale distributor of solar and battery equipment. Developed Discover Energy VPP to accelerate decarbonization of Australia's electricity infrastructure.
• Compatible Inverter BrandscoreTechnology or IntegrationMultiple inverter brands compatible with Discover Energy VPP platform: FoxESS, Solis, Alpha ESS, AISWEI, Bytewatt, Growatt (SPH series), GoodWe Hybrid, Sungrow Hybrid, SolarEdge. Battery capacity range: 2-28kWh.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Origin Energy: Major Australian incumbent energy retailer with growing VPP and distributed energy offerings (including solar and battery programs). Comparable retail electricity + DER bundle at incumbent scale.
• AGL Energy: Australia's largest energy retailer and generator, operating AGL VPP programs across NSW/SA/VIC. Overlapping retail energy + VPP bundle offering but at materially larger scale and balance sheet.
• EnergyAustralia: Large Australian retail energy provider with national NEM footprint and emerging distributed energy / VPP initiatives. Direct competitor for residential retail customers and emerging VPP enrollments.
• Shell Energy Australia: National energy retailer (formerly Powershop/Shell Energy) competing across residential and commercial NEM segments. Comparable digital-first customer experience and increasingly active in VPP/DER products.

Emerging players

• Enphase Energy: Global microinverter and battery company expanding into VPP/grid services via its IQ Battery platform. Represents both a potential integration partner and a vertically integrated VPP competitor.
• SolarEdge: Listed inverter and smart energy company with growing VPP/grid services ambitions and a residential hardware footprint compatible with Discover Energy's platform. Overlapping role as both potential partner and competing vertically integrated VPP.

Direct peers

• sonnen (sonnenCommunity): Battery manufacturer with a global sonnenCommunity VPP network that aggregates home batteries for grid services and peer-to-peer trading. Comparable VPP-as-trading-platform model bundled with hardware.
• Reposit Power: Australian VPP specialist aggregating behind-the-meter batteries (residential and C&I) for grid services and trading. Most direct VPP competitor in the Australian NEM with overlapping Growatt/FoxESS-class hardware integrations.
• Tesla Energy (Tesla Virtual Power Plant): Operates one of the world's largest residential VPPs (notably in South Australia) using Powerwall batteries and an automated trading platform. Comparable VPP-as-trading-platform model, though vertically integrated with Tesla hardware.
• Mojo Power: Digital-first Australian electricity retailer focused on residential and SMB customers with solar plans and emerging VPP-style offerings. Closest head-to-head digital retailer in PLG motion.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/discover_energ
• Facebookfacebook.com/discoverenergyau
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/discoverenergy

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Discover Energy