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As 2024 draws to a close, we find ourselves looking back on a whirlwind journey. VoltaRocks officially came to life in May 2023 with a simple but powerful idea: accelerate residential energy independence. It’s been a year of big lessons, unexpected discoveries, and meaningful connections—thanks in large part to you, our community.
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‍Our first step was launching a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that integrated with Australia’s Consumer Data Right (CDR) framework. We wanted to give everyday users real insight into their energy usage, backed by reliable data. The response? Eye-opening. You provided feedback, asked tough questions, and even lodged a few complaints. Far from discouraging us, your honesty helped shape our roadmap.
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Over the past year, we’ve seen how the energy industry remains heavily geared toward lead generation and sales funnels, leaving genuine user-centric innovation in the shadows. As a team of engineers, data geeks, and introverts, we struggled at times to fit into a world focused on glossy marketing and third-party leads. But that struggle highlighted the gap we could fill—true tools that empower people, not just pipelines for sales.
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‍Realising our shortcomings, we sought out the right partners. Organisations offerguidance on refining user journeys and improving the overall experience. We also teamed up with other specialists— “42”—to help build the frameworks and data pipelines needed to drive real innovation in electrification and energy optimisation.
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‍We’re excited to announce that our next big step will be the release of the “42” platform. More than an app update, this platform will offer our energy tools, data sources, and optimisation engines to anyone—businesses, communities, or clubs—who wants to accelerate the shift to clean energy solutions. Imagine a toolkit that demystifies product information, empowers custom apps, and fuels services that today are limited by data scarcity and industry complexity.
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‍The timing couldn’t be better. According to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), rooftop solar penetration in Australian homes exceeds 30%. The momentum is there—but what’s often missing is the infrastructure to make informed decisions, integrate new technologies seamlessly, and bring these innovations to more households at scale. With VoltaRocks and the 42 platform, we aim to fill that gap.
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While many take a well-deserved break, our team will be knee-deep in code, design sprints, and partner discussions. Our goal is to kick off 2025 with a platform that’s ready to help you—and anyone else—create, customise, and deploy their own energy solutions.
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None of this would be possible without you. Your support, your critiques, and your ideas have been a guiding compass. As we move into the new year, we’ll continue to rely on your insights to help shape the platform into something truly useful and transformative.
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As we enter 2025, we raise a glass to all of you. May the coming year bring good energy—literally and figuratively—and may we continue to collaborate on solutions that make electrification simple, transparent, and accessible. In the energy ecosystem, if one of us succeeds, we all succeed.
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Sources & Further Reading:
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