BlackRock Real Assets has acquired Australian battery storage company Akaysha Energy to be its Asia-Pacific platform.
The US firm expects to deploy A$1bn (€692M) over the next three to five years, initially in Australia and then “putting boots on the ground” in new markets such as Japan and Taiwan.
“This is our biggest deal globally by some margin and our first battery storage transaction in Asia Pacific,” Charlie Reid, APAC co-head of climate infrastructure, BlackRock, told IPE Real Assets.
Reid said the near term focus was the Australian market. “Our funding will be deployed in the first 150MW project.
Akaysha has a programme to build-out more than 1GW of battery storage assets across nine projects in the National Electricity Market in Australia.
At full capacity, Akaysha’s projects will help accelerate the roll-out of a further 4GW of supply of clean, affordable renewable energy across Australia.
Akaysha was founded by Nick Carter, a former Tesla and Macquarie Capital executive.
Carter said by tapping into BlackRock’s global capabilities and track record in climate infrastructure, Akaysha would be able to work towards accelerating the installation of utility-scale energy storage technologies in the region.
Andrew Landman, head of Australasia, BlackRock, said, “This investment reflects our commitment to accelerating Australia’s energy transition.”
To read the latest edition of the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.
