The start of Solar Synthesis Energy Innovation (Pty) Ltd

HydraTherm Services (Pty) Ltd has been delivering exceptional products and services to the energy-efficient hot water industry in South Africa since 2015. Our founders started their careers in the solar industry in 2007. With a specific focus on energy-efficient hot water systems that comply with the national building regulations, HydraTherm's market has predominantly been the residential property development market.

Rolling blackouts and Eskom load-shedding kick-started the market's search for energy efficiency solutions back in 2006/2007. With water heating being one of the greatest consumers of domestic electricity, solar water heaters soon became a sought-after product. This led to Eskom rebates for the installation of solar geysers in homes. In time, heat pumps emerged as an excellent alternative to conventional solar geysers, and they too were backed by Eskom rebates for a period of time.

Fast forward to 2012-2015, more advanced hybrid inverters with integrated battery management, load-shifting, and smart grid interaction gained traction. Brands like SolarEdge, Tesla (with Powerwall integration), and Fronius launched commercial residential hybrid models.

Around 2016, rapid development in lithium-ion batteries ("BESS") and smart energy management led to the mainstream adoption of hybrid inverters with features like AI-driven energy optimization, virtual power plants (VPP), and bidirectional power flow.

By 2018/19, the HydraTherm group had started rolling out PV water heating services (solar-powered geysers) in response to the market's changing demands and improvements in solar panel technology. Extensive deployment of this technology in the residential property market saw us becoming a mass installer of solar panels once again.

Major acceleration in domestic installations of inverters and BESS started in 2020, with a boom in this industry by 2023. As a result of HydraTherm's exposure to the market for solar power, we started receiving requests from consumers and business customers alike to provide installation services for inverters, BESS, and rooftop solar power. We were relatively cautious about entering the market and took an install-only approach.

By mid-2024, the market crashed when Eskom load-shedding all but disappeared. During this time, we faced a difficult choice: stop all activity in this market and waste the experience gained, or reinvent ourselves in preparation for more sustainable demand driven by rising electricity prices and the eventual reemergence of extended rolling blackouts.

By the last quarter of 2025, the decision was taken to proceed with establishing Solar Synthesis Energy Innovation (Pty) Ltd as a separate division and entity to respond to the market for what is now widely known as Small-Scale Embedded Generation (SSEG), which is just a term for on-site power production by means of solar panels, energy stored in BESS, or petroleum generators (also wind, but that is a different market altogether).

Why a separate company? HydraTherm provides business-to-business solutions which ultimately end up in the hands of consumers and are supported accordingly. SSEG, however, generally starts with the consumer and requires a different operational structure and strategy to what HydraTherm is set up for, hence the establishment of Solar Synthesis.