Eco Investor August 2015

Unlisted Companies

$6 Million Venture Capital for Battery Storage Company

Octillion Power Systems is entering the Australian battery storage market with the help of a $6.3 million investment by the Southern Cross Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund. The Fund co-invested in the company's recent round with Kleiner Perkins China, Samsung Ventures and other existing investors.

Octillion Power Systems Australia based in Brisbane and Octillion Power Systems in California are part of the Sinoelectric Powertrain Corporation (SinoEV), a group that also has two manufacturing facilities in China. SinoEV and Octillion are providers of advanced lithium-ion battery systems for electric vehicle manufacturers and stationary storage applications such as energy peak shaving, UPS and residential energy storage.

Octillion Power Systems will use the capital to further develop advanced lithium-ion battery storage solutions for the Australian and global markets. It will use SinoEv's global manufacturing capabilities and its advanced battery technology as a core building block to achieve a competitive price for its products.

Octillion Power Systems Australia's managing director Steve McRae said the investment will allow Octillion to combine a cost competitive supply chain with world class research and development and deliver a product tailored to multiple applications and markets.

The Southern Cross Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund is part of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency's Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund Program. The chief executive of ARENA, Ivor Frischknecht, said "The company's ‘honeycomb' battery solution can be installed in different size and space configurations, allowing greater flexibility. This can be useful for many applications, such as when batteries need to be tightly integrated with inverters. Octillion will work with research institutions to further develop the technology for Australia and South East Asia's needs. This will address challenges such as local grid constraints, high ambient temperatures and significant annual temperature fluctuations."

The Southern Cross Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund is one of the largest renewable energy venture capital funds in Australia, with the Australian Government's commitment matched dollar for dollar by Softbank China Venture Capital. The Fund is managed by Southern Cross Venture Partners, which invests in promising renewable energy and enabling technology companies with global potential.

Another investee of the Fund, Sunverge Energy, Inc., was recently named by Greentech Media as one of the 20 most innovative firms working on the future of the electric power industry.

The Sunverge Solar Integration System (SIS) is a distributed energy storage solution comprising batteries, power electronics, and multiple energy inputs controlled by software in the cloud. The system lowers costs, ensures reliability, strengthens the grid, and accelerates the integration of renewable energies and electric vehicles.

Sunverge Energy has deployed its solar plus storage platform with utilities in over 400 installations globally with 4.5 MWh of storage capacity under management.

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