Australian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes has been named chair of clean energy start-up Sun Cable, which is seeking to secure funds for the $30 billion AAPowerlink project, according to Reuters.
Related article: Sun Cable gets $210m boost from billionaires Cannon-Brookes and Forrest
Singapore-based Sun Cable plans to supply solar power from Australia to Singapore and eventually Indonesia through the world’s longest subsea high voltage cable, linked to a 17-20GW solar farm, as well as an energy storage facility of up to 42GWh in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Cannon-Brookes, co-founder of project management software maker Atlassian and an investor in Sun Cable since 2019, said he was “thrilled” to take up the role at the company, which is yet to break ground on the planned 4,200km undersea cable.
“Australia can and should be a global leader in clean energy exports. Sun Cable is at the forefront of making Australia a renewable energy superpower,” Cannon-Brookes said in a statement.
Sun Cable CEO David Griffin pointed to Cannon-Brookes’ experience in “rapidly building business to a global scale”.
The project, also backed by iron ore magnate and Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest, received an “investment ready” tick in June from Infrastructure Australia, an independent body tasked with evaluating infrastructure projects.
Related article: Sun Cable’s Australia-Asia PowerLink investment ready
Construction is planned to start in 2024 with full operations commencing in 2029.
