Portland metro-based Powin will supply an Australian project that’s being called “the most powerful battery in the world.”
The project is intended to give Sydney and nearby cities reliable energy supply after the closing of a 720-megawatt coal-fired plant in 2025.
The Waratah Super Battery is a massive expression of the energy transition trend that Powin is taking advantage of with aggressive battery cell sourcing, proprietary technology and, recently, the acquisition of power conversion specialist EKS Energy.
Akaysha Energy, owned by an arm of investment giant BlackRock, is developing the New South Wales project under contract with the state government.
“Powin’s proven ability to deploy energy storage systems at scale coupled with EKS Energy’s unrivaled power conversion system, plant controller and systems engineering capabilities have made this an easy decision to select Powin as our technology partner,” Nick Carter, managing director of Akaysha Energy, said in a statement.
Powin has grown from $32 million in revenue in 2019 to an expected $600 million to $700 million this year, according to the company. More than $235 million in private equity investment in the past two years has accelerated growth under a management team led by Geoff Brown, CEO since 2016.
“We are honored to have been selected by Akaysha to deliver the most powerful battery in the world,” Brown said in a statement. “This is a pivotal moment for the industry as we begin to replace carbon emitting power plants, with cleaner, more efficient, and fast responding energy storage systems.”
Powin said it will supply 2,592 of its Centipede Energy Segments and 288 power conversion systems from EKS Energy for a power capacity of 909 megawatts with 1,915 megawatt-hours of storage. The Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in Monterey County, California, is often described as the world’s largest operating battery energy storage system at 400 megawatts and 1,600 megawatt-hours.
Powin noted that the Waratah Super Battery is independent of a big supply agreement with Akaysha that was announced in August.
Powin is headquartered in Tualatin and has an office in Portland. It has more than 300 U.S. employees, mostly in the Portland metro area.
