Residential battery storage in Australia gets big boost

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the new round of financing included a USD $20 million commitment from AGL Energy Limited (AGL) and was a clear signal of confidence in Sunverge’s smart storage systems.

“This USD $20 million commitment from AGL will see one of Australia’s largest energy companies join other investors – ARENA, SBCVC, Siemens Venture Capital and Total Energy Ventures – to bring new residential storage technology to the Australian market,” Mr Frischknecht said.

“This new investment will build on more than USD $7 million that ARENA and SBCVC have already invested through the Southern Cross Renewable Energy (SXRE) Fund to help Sunverge establish operations in Australia and overcome barriers to the widespread deployment of storage systems.”

Mr Frischknecht said ARENA and SBCVC had first invested in Sunverge Energy through the SXRE Fund in 2014 and had played a critical role in the success of Sunverge Australia.

“The company has continued to grow and this latest success will allow it to employ more staff in Australia and explore options for locally manufacturing its systems in the future,” Mr Frischknecht said.

“Residential battery storage is currently in its infancy in Australia. While only a small number of systems are currently installed, there is a lot of interest in the technology.

“The partnership between AGL and Sunverge will accelerate the roll out of a state-of-the art grid integrated battery storage solution to Australia’s large household storage market.

“As storage becomes more commonplace in Australian homes, we expect to see energy retailers firm up business models for selling new products and work through some of the regulatory constraints facing Australia’s emerging storage market.

“Solving these challenges will ultimately allow consumers to get more value from their rooftop solar systems and increase the supply of renewable solar power in our electricity networks, contributing to grid stability and reducing peak load stress.”

Sunverge’s Solar Integration System combines advanced lithium batteries with a sophisticated control platform that allows power flows to and from the grid to be controlled as part of a Virtual Power Plant.