ImpactAlpha, August 17 — Battery storage is “a fundamental requirement” to realize the $100 trillion opportunity presented by the transition to net zero, BlackRock’s Charlie Reid, told Australia’s Financial Review.
Reid, co-head of BlackRock’s climate infrastructure strategy for Asia and the Pacific, led the acquisition of Akaysha Energy, a Melbourne-based developer with nine battery energy storage projects.
BlackRock will invest more than A$1 billion (US$702) over the three to five years to help Akaysha develop one-gigawatt of battery storage in Australia. Akaysha will also invest in energy storage in Taiwan and Japan.
Clean-energy transition
The deal is BlackRock’s first for battery storage in Asia or the Pacific. The region “is at the dawn of its energy transition from carbon emitting fossil fuels to intermittent renewable resources,” said Akaysha’s Nick Carter. “A successful shift to a more sustainable energy future is dependent on the use of large-scale battery storage.”
BlackRock had been looking for an opportunity to help transition Australia’s electric grid away from coal-fired power, Reid said. BlackRock last year invested in JOLT to accelerate electric vehicle adoption in Australia.