E.ON Next Optimise: Amber-Powered Solar Battery Tariff

E.ON has put more money behind Amber Electric, the Australian company whose software runs its Next Optimise tariff, and if you own solar panels and a battery it is a tariff worth understanding. The investment was announced on 22 September 2026 as part of Amber's latest funding round. Next Optimise is a half-hourly, wholesale-priced tariff that automatically decides when your battery charges, discharges and exports. Here is how it works, what E.ON says it saves, and who can actually use it.

What E.ON announced about Amber Electric

On 22 September 2026, E.ON said it had increased its strategic investment in Amber Electric's latest funding round. The round was a reported €49 million Series E led by Morgan Stanley Investment Management's 1GT, with the funds earmarked for developing Amber's technology, including vehicle-to-grid features, and for expansion into European markets. E.ON UK chief executive Chris Norbury said customers want energy that is sustainable but also affordable, and pointed to Next Optimise as one example of technology already helping customers save.

The funding itself does not change your bill. What matters for solar owners is the product it backs: a tariff that E.ON Next launched in May 2026 after piloting it under the name Next Solar Max.

How the Next Optimise tariff works

Next Optimise is a half-hourly dynamic tariff: your unit rate changes every 30 minutes with wholesale electricity prices, while the standing charge is fixed. Amber's software, which E.ON calls SmartShift, builds a 24-hour plan for your home by balancing three forecasts: wholesale prices, your expected solar generation and your household demand. It then charges the battery when power is cheap, and discharges or exports when prices are high.

E.ON says the system only moves energy when there is a clear financial benefit, never discharges below a 25% battery level, and respects the manufacturer's minimum reserve. There is a 30-day learning period, an app that shows prices, usage and export payments, and a choice between automatic and manual control. E.ON also says there are no exit fees.

If dynamic pricing is new to you, our guide to time-of-use tariffs for solar owners explains the basics, and negative electricity prices shows why cheap, windy periods are exactly when a battery should be filling up.

What E.ON says you could save

E.ON's figures come from its early pilot and from modelling, and it stresses that actual savings depend on your usage, equipment and market conditions.

• Pilot results: E.ON says every pilot household saw a bill reduction, averaging about £18 a month, with some regularly saving close to £100 a month.
• Modelled saving: E.ON models that the average UK household could save around £300 a year compared with a standard variable tariff and a conventional Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) payment.
• Illustrative rates: for a home using 4,200 kWh a year with 4 kW of solar and a 5 kWh battery, E.ON's example assumes an average import rate of 10p per kWh and an average export rate of 15p per kWh.

Treat these as marketing-grade estimates rather than promises. Because the rate follows wholesale prices, it can also go higher, and a good month in a pilot does not guarantee a good winter.

Who can get Next Optimise

You need solar panels and a compatible home battery. E.ON's tariff page lists the following as supported, with a waitlist for other setups:

• GivEnergy: all systems.
• Fox ESS: H1-G2, KH and H3 Smart ranges (not H1-G1).
• Alpha ESS: inverters with serial numbers beginning AL.
• Sigenergy: systems with a Sigen Gateway or Sigen Sensor.
• Tesla: Powerwall 2 and Powerwall 3.

E.ON says eligibility and terms and conditions apply, so use its quote tool to confirm your own set-up. If you are still choosing hardware, our reviews of the Tesla Powerwall 3 and Sigenergy battery range cover two of the supported systems.

Is a dynamic tariff right for you?

It suits households with a battery large enough to shift meaningful energy, some flexibility in when they use power, and tolerance for a rate that changes every half hour. It also relies on the wholesale price gap between cheap and expensive periods, which is wider in winter.

It suits less well if you want a predictable unit rate, have no battery, or would rather keep a simple fixed tariff plus a high SEG rate. Compare it with a standard export deal using our best Smart Export Guarantee rates guide, and see how to choose an energy tariff as a solar owner for the wider trade-offs. Remember that import and export are separate contracts, as explained in how solar export payments work.

Also note E.ON's other solar move this month, the FlatSave shared solar scheme for flats and social housing, and the pending E.ON and OVO merger, which could affect export tariffs later.

What to watch next

Amber says its platform already orchestrates more than half of the automated home batteries in Australia, and E.ON's backing suggests the UK product will keep expanding, with vehicle-to-grid support flagged as a future development. E.ON has not said when that would reach UK customers, and it has not published a UK customer count for Next Optimise. We will update this page as more detail emerges.