Australian battery energy storage systems (BESS) developer and operator Akaysha Energy announced that it has secured a A$300 million (USD$197 million) corporate debt facility. According to Akaysha Energy, the new facility will fund the development and construction of its BESS project pipeline across Australia, the U.S., Japan and Germany.
Energy storage forms one of the key building blocks for the clean energy transition, given the intermittent generating nature of many sources of renewable energy, such as wind and solar, and the need to satisfy round-the-clock energy demand, while ensuring that energy is not wasted, particularly as demand on the grid grows from areas such as transport electrification and AI computing.
Founded in 2021, Akaysha designs and develops large-scale battery energy storage systems. The company recently announced brought online the first 350 MW of its 850 MW Waratah Super Battery, which it said is the world’s most powerful battery in terms of power and energy storage capacity.
Akaysha was acquired in 2022 by BlackRock’s Climate Infrastructure business, part of BlackRock Real Assets, in the strategy’s first battery storage investment in the Asia-Pacific region.
The new 3-year facility is structured as a “borrowing base loan,” meaning that it has the flexibility to increase in size as the value of Akaysha’s portfolio of BESS assets grows. While borrowing base loans have been used in the U.S. renewables sector and in the oil and gas industry, the new facility marks the first of its kind in the Australian renewables market.
Andrew Wegman, Chief Financial & Investment Officer of Akaysha Energy, said:
“This is a landmark facility for Akaysha and for the Australian renewables sector. As the first borrowing base loan of its kind in the market, it provides the scale and flexibility to accelerate our development pipeline and capitalise on the extensive set of near-term opportunities that we see in Australian and global energy markets.”
The debt facility was supported by a syndicate of banks including BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, ING, SMBC, and Westpac.
