BlackRock Real Assets to invest in build-out of 1 GW of batteries in Australia

A fund managed by BlackRock Real Assets has agreed to acquire battery storage and renewable energy developer Akaysha Energy and to make a hefty investment in the Australian company’s 1-GW-plus portfolio of energy storage projects.

As part of the proposed acquisition, BlackRock will spend more than AUD 1 billion (USD 700.5m/EUR 690m) on the construction of nine battery projects, it announced on Tuesday. This is the first battery storage investment made through the BlackRock Climate Infrastructure business in the Asia-Pacific region.

The 1-GW capacity installation within the National Electricity Market (NEM) is intended to support the grid and help save more than 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the lifetime of the projects. When fully commissioned, these projects are seen to speed up the roll-out of an additional 4 GW of renewable energy capacity across Australia, BlackRock estimates.

Melbourne-based Akaysha Energy was set up in 2021 and is focused on the end-to-end development of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and renewable energy projects. Apart from Australia, its long-term plans involve projects in other Asia-Pacific markets, initially starting with Japan and Taiwan. The company says it intends to expand its portfolio with green hydrogen schemes, as well.

“For our clients, we see tremendous long-term growth potential in the development of advanced battery storage assets across Australia [..],” said Charlie Reid, APAC Co-Head of Climate Infrastructure, BlackRock.

BlackRock Real Assets is part of US investment giant BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK).

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.701/EUR 0.690)

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