Long-duration energy storage (LDES) projects will face an ever-growing list of barriers in the next decade
In one fell swoop Andrew Forrest’s Squadron Energy becomes Australia’s most dominant renewable energy player
Melbourne hydrogen company, Cavendish Renewable Technology (CRT), signs agreement with India’s Adani New Industries to develop electrolyser technologies

Governments and companies around the world have poured more than US$58bn into long-duration energy storage (LDES) projects in just three short years but these very same projects will face an ever-growing list of technical, financial, and business barriers in the next decade, and ultimately struggle to cost-effectively scale by 2030.

Wood Mackenzie’s latest ‘Long-duration energy storage report 2022’ has found that projects representing US $30bn are now either under construction or in operation however most long-duration energy storage technologies are still nascent.

According to Kevin Shang, WoodMac’s senior research analyst, the technology solutions that exist today are far from meeting society’s power needs.

While we have seen the rapid deployment of vanadium redox flow batteries and compressed air energy storage out of China, and the huge investment out of the US in the LDES industry with companies actively pushing for innovation and promoting pilot projects, most European countries remain less enthusiastic, he explains.

“The UK Government has been an exemption, as it explores the role LDES technologies have to offer, while actively seeking to support industry players.

“Government support is required to help lower upfront capital costs, provide revenue certainty, and generate market signals for investment mobilisation and broader deployment of LDES projects,” Shang says.

“Overcoming these roadblocks will be fundamental in accelerating deployment and unlocking the potential of LDES.”

In addition to scaling up LDES technologies, Wood Mackenzie says companies also need to create new business models, which will enable them to attract private investors and explore the possibility of making a profit without subsidy support in the long run.

Currently pumped hydro storage is the only LDES technology deployed on a large-scale and will continue to dominate the market until 2030.

New mechanism to power Australian energy market

Despite Woodmac’s concerns, Australian energy ministers are clearly keen to push ahead with energy storage, reaching a new agreement on a mechanism to fast track fast-track the development of big batteries and long duration storage as the country seeks to accelerate its switch from coal to renewables.

Ministers met in Brisbane on Thursday to discuss the new Capacity Investment Scheme, which will provide the national framework needed to drive new renewable dispatchable capacity and ensure reliability in Australia’s rapidly changing energy market over the next decade and beyond.

This new revenue underwriting mechanism will unlock around $10 billion of investment in clean dispatchable power to support reliability and security as the energy market undergoes its biggest transformation since the industrial revolution, Minister Chris Bowen said in a media release.

“The Capacity Investment Scheme is essentially a keep the lights on mechanism. Australian households, industry and the energy market are all moving with their feet towards more affordable renewable energy,” Bowen said.

“It will ensure the reliable power we need is delivered as this transition continues.”

The Government will release further details on the scheme in the coming months, with a view to the first auction occurring in 2023.

Squadron Energy becomes the country’s largest owner of renewable energy assets

In one fell swoop Andrew Forrest’s private energy vehicle, unlisted Squadron Energy, has become Australia’s most dominant renewable energy player after paying $4bn for developer CWP Renewables – reportedly beating moves by Spanish giant Iberdrola, Tilt Renewables, and Origin Energy.

The deal takes Squadron’s renewable energy portfolio to a grand total of 2.4 gigawatts with a development pipeline of 20GW in NSW and Victoria to ensure reliability of supply across the east coast and transform the market from generator-led to customer-led.

Forrest has certainly not been shy about his renewable energy ambitions, speaking out on numerous occasions about the need for Australia to adopt zero emissions sources of energy in order to address climate change.

He has spoken at length about becoming one of the world’s leading producers of green hydrogen with a goal to produce 15Mt a year by 2030.

#GreenHydrogen this can only be good for the sector as a whole. We’re expecting smart money to follow in 2023 #RNE #LIO #CWP @PeakAsset1 https://t.co/zkVYLDUGOr

— @PeakAsset (@PeakAsset1) December 7, 2022

Melbourne hydrogen start up nabs Adani investment

Melbourne-based hydrogen tech company, Cavendish Renewable Technology (CRT), signed an agreement with India’s Adani New Industries – a subsidiary of the Adani Group, to develop its state-of-the-art electrolyser technologies to meet growing demand in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Adani New Industries selected CRT as its tech partner and plans to invest US$70bn by 2030 into green technologies and projects.

This agreement, CRT says, covers the development of Alkaline Electrolysers (AEL), Polymer Exchange Membrane (PEM), Anion Exchange Membranes (AEM), and CRT’s innovative ‘C Cell’ technology for mass-scale production.

“It is going to be a golden era for hydrogen over the next decade,” CRT CEO Dr Ani Kulkarni says.

“CRT is excited to receive such a significant contract from Adani – we believe this contract would underpin clean technology collaborations between two key economies in the APAC region.”

Here’s how ASX renewable energy companies are tracking:

CODE	COMPANY	PRICE	% TODAY	% WEEK	% MONTH	% 6 MONTHS	% YEAR	MARKET CAP
AVL	Aust Vanadium Ltd	0.026	0%	-2%	-16%	-32%	-4%	$106,655,667
BSX	Blackstone Ltd	0.15	-3%	0%	-6%	-43%	-72%	$73,374,697
DEL	Delorean Corporation	0.067	0%	-7%	-15%	-52%	-67%	$14,453,301
ECT	Env Clean Tech Ltd.	0.0145	-3%	-3%	-9%	-28%	-68%	$25,743,775
FMG	Fortescue Metals Grp	20.8	-2%	7%	25%	-2%	19%	$65,181,687,314
PV1	Provaris Energy Ltd	0.051	0%	0%	-15%	-12%	-48%	$27,962,304
GNX	Genex Power Ltd	0.17	0%	0%	-11%	17%	-8%	$235,480,114
HXG	Hexagon Energy	0.017	6%	6%	13%	-39%	-78%	$8,206,654
HZR	Hazer Group Limited	0.66	-3%	-6%	-7%	-10%	-45%	$115,901,745
IFT	Infratil Limited	8.49	3%	2%	8%	19%	10%	$5,997,192,081
IRD	Iron Road Ltd	0.13	0%	4%	-7%	-26%	-35%	$103,981,970
LIO	Lion Energy Limited	0.034	-3%	-8%	0%	-8%	-51%	$14,913,858
MEZ	Meridian Energy	4.66	-3%	2%	4%	6%	5%	$6,039,599,009
MPR	Mpower Group Limited	0.02	-5%	5%	-5%	-31%	-56%	$6,167,769
NEW	NEW Energy Solar	0.195	3%	0%	17%	46%	47%	$60,911,717
PGY	Pilot Energy Ltd	0.016	0%	-6%	0%	-16%	-73%	$10,410,839
PH2	Pure Hydrogen Corp	0.2	0%	-9%	-20%	-31%	-62%	$69,638,011
PRL	Province Resources	0.061	-3%	-10%	-23%	-19%	-56%	$74,434,068
PRM	Prominence Energy	0.0015	0%	0%	-25%	-25%	-83%	$3,636,913
QEM	QEM Limited	0.18	0%	3%	-3%	-10%	0%	$24,325,842
RFX	Redflow Limited	0.27	-4%	-18%	-23%	-49%	-47%	$50,049,821
SKI	Spark Infrastructure	0	0%	-100%	-100%	-100%	-100%	$5,036,718,784
VUL	Vulcan Energy	6.96	-1%	-3%	-8%	-3%	-28%	$1,009,080,519
CXL	Calix Limited	4.69	-1%	-7%	12%	-35%	-24%	$852,185,123
KPO	Kalina Power Limited	0.016	-11%	-26%	-20%	-24%	-27%	$27,273,524
RNE	Renu Energy Ltd	0.055	-4%	-4%	41%	38%	-39%	$25,084,871
NRZ	Neurizer Ltd	0.11	5%	-4%	0%	-41%	-31%	$116,183,617
LIT	Lithium Australia	0.048	0%	-4%	-6%	-41%	-56%	$58,617,200
TNG	TNG Limited	0.086	-2%	-9%	1%	25%	26%	$122,180,804
SRJ	SRJ Technologies	0.43	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	$38,345,359
NMT	Neometals Ltd	0.95	-3%	-5%	-12%	-20%	-6%	$541,686,352
MR1	Montem Resources	0.04	0%	0%	0%	33%	-33%	$12,893,190
FGR	First Graphene Ltd	0.11	-12%	-8%	-19%	-15%	-48%	$72,664,548
EGR	Ecograf Limited	0.25	-2%	-15%	-19%	-36%	-63%	$114,835,032
EDE	Eden Inv Ltd	0.0055	-8%	-8%	-8%	-54%	-73%	$16,267,374
CWY	Cleanaway Waste Ltd	2.71	-1%	-2%	1%	-7%	-8%	$6,076,980,328
CPV	Clearvue Technologie	0.19	3%	6%	0%	-31%	-24%	$39,416,350
CNQ	Clean Teq Water	0.39	3%	1%	5%	-33%	-50%	$19,476,913
M8S	M8 Sustainable	0.008	0%	-11%	-20%	-11%	-53%	$3,927,268
EOL	Energy One Limited	4.27	-1%	-8%	-4%	-18%	-31%	$128,990,982
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.031	3%	-11%	-6%	63%	55%	$28,884,767
FHE	Frontier Energy Ltd	0.525	-3%	-3%	0%	114%	304%	$135,438,062
LPE	Locality Planning	0.065	14%	3%	14%	27%	-57%	$10,013,118

Standout ASX renewable energy news

PROVARIS ENERGY (AXS:PV1)

Support for PV1’s Tiwi H2 export hydrogen development has been reconfirmed in a stakeholder meeting held in Darwin.

The Tiwi Land Council said it is on board for the company to progress with granted permissions such as the request for Provaris to begin drafting various land agreements.

“We thank the Munupi clan for the spirit of consultation to date and permissions granted, and now look forward to developing the benefits to the community in parallel with the drafting and execution of all land agreements required during detailed feasibility stages,” PV1 chief development officer Garry Triglavcanin says.

FRONTIER ENERGY (ASX:FHE)

FHE has acquired ground adjacent to the company’s Bristol Springs Renewable Energy Project, resulting in an overall lower capital cost for stage one development (114MW) given its prime location plus more direct route to essential infrastructure.

“In the longer term the benefit is clear as this ground will be used as part of meeting the company’s renewable energy target of +1GW in immediate vicinity to the project,” FHE managing director Sam Lee Mohan says.

FHE paid $4.8mn for the acquired ground, which covers 238ha and located only 0.3km from the Landwehr terminal.

The cost of the Acquired Ground has been funded from existing cash reserves, which remain extremely strong and are more than sufficient to take us through to FID (Stage One development),” Mohan adds.

“We are also in advanced discussions with a property fund that has the potential to fund the Acquired Ground transaction retrospectively as well as all future land acquisitions.”

SUVO STRATEGIC METALS (ASX:SUV)

SUV has raised $2m under a placement to investors at 0.04 per share to advance studies and development opportunities relating to green initiatives such as the development of new premium products including meta-kaolin and green cement.

The funds will also allow Suvo to perform studies and test work on bulk samples obtained from the recently completed drilling programme at its Eneabba Silica Sands Project in Western Australia.