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Melbourne-based GreenSync has bagged US$8.7 million in series B funding to take its technology to international markets, including Southeast Asia. The round was led by the Australian government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Southern Cross Venture Partners, which is partly owned by SoftBank China Venture Capital.
GreenSync uses software and algorithms – which it calls “smart control” – to plug renewable energy like solar and wind, as well as battery storage systems, into power grids. The software sits above the traditional grid, managing dispatch among energy providers and giving consumers access to a particular energy resource at a time.
Current electricity grids can only connect around 20 percent of renewable energy as a power source due to concerns about supply (i.e., if the sun stops shining or the wind stops blowing). So what GreenSync does is manage loads from different energy sources – renewable, stored, and traditional sources – integrating each supplier’s system to get an overview of the loads. The software also has a predictive analytics feature, which monitors factors such as weather and peak times to make renewable energy more stable and ultimately increase the connection of renewables up to 80 percent, the company explains.
“By managing electricity loads, our technology harmonizes the use of renewable, stored, and where needed, traditional energy resources – ensuring a reliable, clean, and affordable flow of energy is available,” founder and CEO Phil Blythe tells Tech in Asia. “We’re a key player in helping create a decentralized energy economy.”
GreenSync works with the entire energy spectrum – from transmission and distribution companies to large industrial and commercial facilities, and residential areas. In Australia, it partners with more than 50 percent of energy utilities. Its latest project aims to enable tapping of renewables generated by households and businesses in the Mornington Peninsula region, deferring the need for a multimillion-dollar investment in poles and wires from the local energy provider.
Phil says they will use the funds to scale up in Australia and expand to new markets, starting with Southeast Asia after having recently opened an office in Singapore. Pilots are also underway in the US and Europe.
We asked Phil how exactly they plan to tackle Southeast Asia, given that the region’s grid infrastructure is likely different from Australia’s and power regulations vary across markets, too. We’ll update this piece when we get his response.
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