GreenSync secures $3.8 milllion from CEFC

“Renewable energy is becoming an increasingly important part of Australia's electricity grid, via large-scale wind and solar developments, as well as rooftop solar,” said CEFC investment development director Blair Pritchard, describing GreenSync’s technology as “the brain and spinal cord of the smart grid.”

The company's software — which provides smart controls to manage energy use — is designed for utilities and energy retailers, as well as industrial, commercial and residential applications.

“(Its) technologies allow large electricity consumers such as manufacturers, resorts and retail centres to more closely monitor their electricity consumption and work with their suppliers to reduce their grid energy requirements and maximize their use of onsite renewable energy such as solar,” said Pritchard, adding that the company’s software will become increasingly important as more storage batteries are deployed throughout Australia.

The CEFC’s funds — provided via the Clean Energy Innovation Fund, which is backed by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to support technologies that can expedite the country’s clean-energy transition — are part of an A$11.5 million Series B capital raising that Melbourne-based GreenSync recently launched.

Southern Cross Renewable Energy Fund, which is jointly administered by SoftBank China Venture Capital and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), is providing an additional A$5 million to the company.

GreenSync founder and chief executive Phil Blythe said that the company is partly trying to help utilities become modern energy service providers.

“Our transformation from a company offering peak demand management services to a company offering broad spectrum control and optimization of grids with energy resources and battery storage, is reflective of the rapid changes underway in Australia and around the world,” he said.