Kamma wins DESNZ funding through the Green Home Finance Accelerator

• Kamma wins £200,000 to develop an end-to-end retrofit marketplace targeting 6.5 million homes missing Net Zero target
• 26 innovative green finance projects are awarded a share of £4.1 million in funding to drive energy efficiency upgrades in UK homes
• Retrofitted properties could potentially save more than £460 a year on bills

Geospatial technology company Kamma has been awarded grant funding by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) through the Green Home Finance Accelerator (GHFA). The winning project aims to overcome the barriers experienced by customers in engaging with retrofit activities while also increasing industry collaboration around the retrofit problem.

The GHFA, part of the UK Government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP), first opened applications to receive a share of the £20 million grant fund in October 2022. The programme will support the piloting, development and deployment of green finance products which drive retrofit of home energy efficiency and low carbon heating measures, such solar panels and heat pumps, helping homeowners to decarbonise their properties.

The programme has now awarded £4.1 million to 26 green finance projects in the first phase of discovery.

Retrofit uptake has been to slow to hit Net Zero requirements for UK’s housing stock

The Climate Change Committee’s pathway to Net Zero for UK homes states that 89% need to achieve an EPC rating of A-C by 2035, in order for the sector to get on track for Net Zero by 2050. Based on the current rate of progress just 67% of properties will achieve this level, with around 6.5 million homes falling short. More needs to be done to provide homeowners with the education, support and financing needed to increase retrofit uptake and get property back on track.

To date, inadequate data has created an unattractive business case for retrofit and home upgrades.

The majority of property owners (customers) perceive that they cannot afford to upgrade the energy efficiency of their home because the associated benefits and available green financing products are not understood. Compounding this is the challenges customers face in deciding on a retrofit package and provider.

Increasing energy costs and interest rates make a compelling business case for energy efficiency and low carbon heating improvements (retrofitting), however this is not obvious or clearly understood by customers. There is a misconception that retrofitting a property requires large upfront lump sum expenditure which is often deemed to be simply unaffordable.

Kamma’s project, Green Home Optimiser, will create the first online end-to-­end retrofit platform connecting lenders, customers and retrofit providers.

This will enable:

• Lenders to create a data driven suite of green finance products which can be matched to customer retrofit needs
• Customers to analyse their property and develop a retrofit plan aligned with their energy performance
• Objectives and budgets, and use this to select a green finance product that meets their needs creation of a clear and compelling business case for retrofit to individual customers to increase customer confidence and retrofit uptake
• Customers to connect with approved retrofitters and lenders to undertake and verify completion of upgrade work
• Tracking and benchmarking of retrofit and net zero progress nationally

The project will propel DESNZ towards its target of having as many UK homes as possible reaching Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C by 2035.

Critical to achieving its aims, GHFA seeks to encourage partnerships between lenders, investors, energy efficiency, low carbon heating and property value chains. As such, Kamma will create the most comprehensive platform for driving energy efficiency upgrades in UK properties alongside a consortium of Aldermore Bank, British Gas, Just Mortgages, LendInvest, and OneSavings Bank.

Lord Callanan, Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance, spoke on the GHFA:

“The government has put in place long-term commitments to ensure homes across the country have greater energy efficiency to reduce bills, drive down energy use and lower emissions. We are supporting these organisations to develop fresh and innovative ways of helping more people get better access to energy efficiency measures, such as loft insulation, double glazing and heat pumps.”

Kamma’s mission is to drive the built environment to Net Zero as quickly and cost effectively as possible.

We work with mortgage lenders, letting agents, local authorities, property funds and housing associations. We have developed a retrofit data and insights engine which uses advanced address-matching, machine learning and current construction industry and national grid data to create individual retrofit plans for 36 million UK properties.

Our business solutions surface this data in a way that supports the major objectives of businesses and organisations linked to property, from supporting mortgage decisioning to ensuring regulatory compliance, creating portfolio pathways to Net Zero, and qualifying property-­related assets as objectively green.

About the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero 

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero provides dedicated leadership focused on delivering security of energy supply, ensuring properly functioning markets, greater energy efficiency and seizing the opportunities of net zero to lead the world in new green industries.

The funding from the Green Home Finance Accelerator comes from the department’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, which provides funding for low-carbon technologies and systems and aims to decrease the costs of decarbonisation helping enable the UK to end its contribution to climate change. 

Contact us now to find out more about how Kamma can support your business to overcome barriers to retrofit uptake.