BlackRock Agrees To Acquire Akaysha Energy

Akaysha to play a critical role in the development of advanced battery storage assets in support of Australia’s energy transition

BlackRock Real Assets has announced a fund under its management has agreed to acquire Akaysha Energy (Akaysha), one of Australia’s leading battery energy storage systems (BESS) and renewable energy developers.

As part of the acquisition, BlackRock intends to commit over AUD$1 billion of capital to support the build-out of over 1GW (Gigawatt) of battery storage assets across Akaysha’s nine projects in the National Electricity Market (NEM) in Australia.

The investment will support the grid at a critical time in Australia’s energy transition and is expected to reduce over 15 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions over the lifetime of the projects.

Battery storage assets have the capacity to resolve the intermittency of renewable energy sources such as wind or solar power, as well as enhance the reliability of the grid by providing voltage management, system strength, inertia, and frequency control services.

At full capacity, Akaysha’s projects will help accelerate the roll-out of a further 4,000MW (megawatt) of supply of clean, affordable renewable energy across Australia.

This is the first battery storage investment made by BlackRock’s Climate Infrastructure business – part of BlackRock Real Assets – in the Asia-Pacific region.

Established in 2021, Akaysha’s longer-term plans include developing future energy storage projects in other Asia-Pacific markets, with a near-term focus on Japan and Taiwan. Akaysha also has plans to add adjacent renewable energy opportunities (including developing green hydrogen assets) to its portfolio across multiple markets.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance has projected that 345GW of battery storage capacity will be added globally by 2030 with the Asia-Pacific region expected to contribute the lion share of the deployment, representing an investment opportunity of around US$400 billion.

Australia requires several GW of battery storage deployment in the near term and is a key market for the development of this technology both in the Asia-Pacific region and globally. Battery storage will play a critical role in ensuring an orderly and just transition to a future power generation mix of 82% renewables by 2030, as Australia establishes itself as a renewable energy superpower.

Charlie Reid, APAC Co-Head of Climate Infrastructure, BlackRock, said, “As renewable energy infrastructure continues to mature in Australia, investment is required in battery storage assets to ensure the resilience and reliability of the grid, especially with the continued earlier-than-expected retirement of coal-fired power stations.

“For our clients, we see tremendous long-term growth potential in the development of advanced battery storage assets across Australia and in other Asia-Pacific markets and look forward to working with Akaysha to ensure an orderly transition to a cleaner and secure energy future.”

Nick Carter, Managing Director of Akaysha, said, “The Asia Pacific region is at the dawn of its energy transition from carbon-emitting fossil fuels to intermittent renewable resources and we believe a successful shift to a more sustainable energy future is dependent on the use of large-scale battery storage.

“By tapping into BlackRock’s global capabilities and track record in climate infrastructure, we’re excited to fulfil our ambitions in accelerating the installation of utility-scale energy storage technologies that will mitigate the variability of renewable generation and deliver grid reliability and resilience to power system networks across Asia-Pacific.”

Andrew Landman, Head of Australasia, BlackRock, said, “This investment reflects our commitment to accelerating Australia’s energy transition. BlackRock is pleased to be contributing to the development of significant battery storage assets that will enhance the grid infrastructure across Australia and, in effect, ensure the delivery of increased energy security for all Australians.”