News

GreenSync Gets US$8.7 Million Series B Funding

January 24, 2017 by Jeff Shepard

GreenSync, an Australian technology company driving transformation of the global energy industry, has raised US$8.7 million (AU$11.5 million) in a Series B funding round led by Australian government-owned Clean Energy Finance Corporationp (CEFC) and Southern Cross Venture Partners. The capital raise will fund world-leading clean energy projects within Australia as well as the development of GreenSync's industry-leading technology. Largely bootstrapped to date, the Series B funding is by far GreenSync's largest capital raise.

Alongside these developments, GreenSync plans to take its energy-tech offering to new international markets, including South-East Asia (through its new Singapore HQ), where both commercial projects and new pilots are underway. The company also plans to roll out pilot programs in the US and Europe this year.

As the Australian and global energy industries face an unprecedented transformation in the face of new technologies and commitments to clean energy targets, the funding will accelerate GreenSync’s vision for its software to completely reshape global electricity grids, create entirely new decentralised energy business models, and harness the untapped potential of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and battery storage.

GreenSync’s software acts like an architecture that sits above the traditional grid, connected to both central and distributed energy assets. GreenSync partners with businesses across the entire energy spectrum from transmission and distribution companies (energy utilities), to large commercial, industrial and residential precincts, to help them harness the power of renewable energy and harmonise their use of renewable, stored and, where needed, traditional energy resources — ensuring a reliable, secure and more affordable flow of energy is available. It currently partners with more than 50 per cent of Australian energy utilities.

Australia is a hotbed for green energy innovation, with the highest number of solar panels per capita in the world, and fast adoption of battery storage devices. One of GreenSync’s latest projects includes a landmark new approach to managing peak electricity demand in Australia’s Mornington Peninsula. The project will harness renewable energy sources locally generated by households and businesses, deferring the need for a US$22.7 million capital investment (in ‘poles & wires’) from the local energy provider, United Energy.

Dr. Phil Blythe, Founder and CEO of GreenSync, commented on the capital raise:“As the global energy system undergoes unprecedented change towards decentralised energy, the power of renewable and storage technologies will need to be harnessed in new ways.

“Our transformation from a company offering peak demand management services, to a company offering broad spectrum control and optimisation of grids with energy resources and battery storage, is reflective of the rapid changes underway in Australia and around the world.

“As we move towards a new era where energy storage and digital control are essential to maintain stable grids, GreenSync will stay focused on innovations that harness the collective strength of all industry players, and deliver substantially new models for operating grids around the globe.

“Having the financial backing of CEFC and Southern Cross Venture Partners further legitimises the significance of GreenSync’s technology and our future role in building a sustainable energy economy for our partners and customers, not just in Australia but globally.

“There is huge potential for GreenSync internationally and with our strong market position in Australia, we look forward to starting the journey of mapping the global grid.”

Blair Pritchard, Investment Development Director of Clean Energy Finance Corporation commented on the investment: “The CEFC's investment in GreenSync will assist the transition of the Australian energy market from the current centralised model, to a decentralised model that reduces the amount of power lost through the transmission process, and gain benefits from monitoring and better managing electricity demand and supply peaks.

“In the future the smart grid will be able to integrate an even greater use of renewable energy, as well as electric vehicles and battery storage options, giving consumers even more control of their energy consumption. Through the smart control of locally-generated energy resources, GreenSync is contributing to the growth of a new energy economy focused on a cleaner power supply and carbon reduction.”

Mark Bonnar, Managing Director at Southern Cross Venture Partners also commented on the investment: “The electricity distribution network must become bi-directional and this requires a new wave of control systems such as GreenSync to enable the reshaping of the grid. We are excited to be part of this investment and are looking forward to working with the company.”

As part of GreenSync’s US$8.7 million Series B capital raising, the Clean Energy Innovation Fund, which draws on the combined skills and experience of the CEFC and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) committed US$3.78 million, Southern Cross Venture Partners, a joint venture between ARENA and Softbank China Venture Capital, committed a further US$3.78 million, with the remaining capital provided by a private fund.