Queensland-based technology group EcoJoule Energy has secured a $15 million capital investment to support the company’s national and international growth ambitions and help manage the problem of energy grid instability caused by household solar adoption.
EcoJoule’s technology platforms include pole-mounted community energy storage units that stores the excess solar energy from local residents for later use and a voltage regulation device to help integrate more renewables into the grid.
The company, which was established nearly a decade ago, currently has around 20 employees with major customers including Endeavour Energy, Essential Energy, Ausgrid and AusNet Services.
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The company has secured $15 million from an investor group led by Ellerston Capital’s Industrial Growth Fund and Fifth Estate Asset Management.
It is the first time EcoJoule has taken on institutional equity partner, with the capital primarily used to fund a national and international expansion strategy.
EcoJoule Founder and CEO Dr Mike Wishart said, “We’re a proud Queensland business, but our ambitions are global. In the next few years, we aim to expand internationally where we see major opportunities in the UK, Europe, Southeast Asia, and South America.”
Dr Wishart said EcoJoule Energy’s mission was to deliver technologies that would transition the electricity grid into a cheaper, more reliable, environmentally friendly system.
“As renewables, particularly household solar, become more prevalent, our energy grids become more unstable, and it is a significant issue for distribution network service providers (DNSPs),” he said.
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“Our community energy storage units and voltage regulators can help network operators avoid the need to invest significant capital in major upgrades to the grid.
“We’re helping utilities manage the shift from a one-way electricity system to a dynamic, decentralised grid where rooftop solar and other decentralised low carbon technology equipment such as EV chargers become major factors.”
The company’s technology is globally unique and backed by a worldwide patent.
