BlackRock Asset Management said in a recent statement that it will acquire Australia's Akaysha Energy, a company developing battery storage and renewable energy projects, and has committed to invest in the company's battery storage projects.
In the statement, BlackRock pledged more than $1 billion to support the construction of Akaysha Energy's battery storage project, which will build more than 1GW of storage capacity. Details of the acquisition transaction have not been disclosed.
BlackRock revealed that Akaysha plans to develop energy storage projects in a series of Asia-Pacific markets such as Japan and Taiwan in the near future.
Renewable energy capacity is expanding, but its electricity production is not constant, so efficient large-scale storage systems will become increasingly important.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) says rapid scaling up of energy storage is crucial if the flexibility needs to be met to decarbonize the power system.
Australian government figures show that in 2020, fossil fuels accounted for 76% of total electricity generation (coal 54%, natural gas 20% and oil 2%); renewables accounted for 24%.
In April, Australia's Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources said the country's renewable energy generation accounted for 32.2% of the market in 2021, with 35.8% in the final quarter.
Interest in the battery storage sector is growing from some of the biggest players as the world's major economies plan to increase their renewable energy capacity.
According to the IEA, investment in battery storage grew by nearly 40% in 2020 to $5.5 billion.
In July, Equinor announced that it would acquire East Point Energy, a US-based battery storage developer. East Point Energy has 4.1 GW of battery storage systems concentrated on the US East Coast, Equinor said.
The company said that battery storage will play an important role in the energy transition as the share of intermittent renewable energy sources increases globally. Large-scale battery storage systems can in turn help further the development of renewable energy globally, which will help stabilize electricity markets and improve security of supply.
