A fund under the management of BlackRock Real Assets has agreed to purchase Akaysha Energy, an Australian battery energy storage system and renewable energy developer.

As part of the acquisition, BlackRock will commit over A$1 billion (US$702 million) of capital to support the build-out of over 1 gigawatt of battery storage assets across Akaysha’s nine projects in the National Electricity Market in Australia.

The acquisition is the first battery storage investment made by BlackRock’s climate infrastructure business - part of BlackRock Real Assets - in the Asia-Pacific region.  

Based in the state of Victoria, Akaysha’s longer-term plans include developing future energy storage projects in Asia-Pacific markets, with a near-term focus on Japan and Taiwan.

Established in 2021, Akaysha also has plans to add adjacent renewable energy opportunities (including developing green hydrogen assets) to its portfolio across multiple markets.

Fossil fuel transition

Australia requires several gigawatts of battery storage deployment in the near term and is a key market for the development of this technology both in the Asia-Pacific region and globally.

“As renewable energy infrastructure continues to mature in Australia, investment is required in battery storage assets to ensure the resilience and reliability of the grid, especially with the continued earlier-than-expected retirement of coal-fired power stations,” says Charlie Reid, Asia-Pacific co-head, climate infrastructure, BlackRock. “For our clients, we see tremendous long-term growth potential in the development of advanced battery storage assets across Australia and in other Asia-Pacific markets.”

Nick Carter, Akaysha’s managing director, adds: “The Asia-Pacific region is at the dawn of its energy transition from carbon emitting fossil fuels to intermittent renewable resources, and we believe a successful shift to a more sustainable energy future is dependent on the use of large-scale battery storage.”

As Australia’s transition from fossil fuel dependency gains momentum, battery storage will play an increasing role in ensuring an orderly switch to its target power generation mix of 82% renewables by 2030.