Australian energy company EORA Energy is expanding its business beyond battery storage to become an integrated energy infrastructure developer following the formation of a joint venture with resources investor Kevin Maloney's Tulla Group.
The partnership, which was announced yesterday, will initially target mining and remote-energy projects with the first reference project being the Norseman gold mine and camp site in WA’s Kalgoorlie/Goldfields region.
A fully integrated system will be deployed at the site combining battery storage, solar, existing diesel generation and grid supply co-ordinated by an energy and optimisation management system designed to reduce generator run-hours, fuel consumption and peak demand.
A payback period of less than five years is projected for the project, demonstrating the significant potential for integrated energy infrastructure to provide both operational and commercial benefits for energy-intensive businesses.
The new JV partnership represents a significant step-change in EORA Energy’s evolution. Rather than focusing purely on battery technology, the firm is now working on the design, supply, finance and integration of battery solutions with high-efficiency generation, solar and intelligent energy-management systems.
EORA Energy’s CEO James Costello said the business had identified a gap between the availability of energy technologies and capital and the ability to turn viable projects into operating assets.
“By bringing together generation, storage, intelligent controls and private capital, we can develop projects that are technically robust, financially viable and capable of being deployed much faster,” he said.
“Our partnership with Tulla Group is designed to do exactly that by combining technology, project development expertise and capital to deliver energy infrastructure for customers that need reliable power.”
Tulla Group's Kevin Maloney added that the new partnership was designed to address the gap between promising energy projects and their practical deployment.
“There is no shortage of technology or potential projects in this country,” he said.
“The challenge is turning those opportunities into investable projects that can actually get built.
“We need to find ways to mobilise private capital alongside government programs and industry capability to create greater investment certainty.”
Maloney said the JV between Tulla and EORA will seek to accelerate the development of projects - initially in the mining sector - before expanding into other energy-dependent industries and locations.
“Our goal is to bring private capital and commercial discipline together with the technical capability required to deliver on these projects,” he said.
“The partnership with EORA is about putting capital behind that proposition and turning viable opportunities into operating energy infrastructure – initially in WA and then beyond.”
The Norseman project is one of a number of opportunities being developed by the JV which will focus on designing, supplying, financing and integrating complete energy management systems rather than simply supplying individual battery storage technologies.
The partnership has identified further opportunities across mining, data centres, distribution networks, hydro generation and remote communities.
Its current data-centre pipeline includes several opportunities in Qld in the 6–15MW range and an initial 10MW opportunity.
A 5MW/20MWh project with a distribution network and a 4.95MW/20MWh battery opportunity designed to optimise hydro generation are also in the offing.
In other developments, the JV is developing EPC and Energy-as-a-Service capabilities. The EasS model will be designed to overcome one of the major barriers to deployment: the upfront capital required by businesses to install new energy infrastructure.
Under the model, project capital would be used to fund the required infrastructure with customers paying through an agreed service charge or a share of the resulting energy savings.
A major focus of the new JV will be the development of modular microgrids for remote communities, data centres and other grid-constrained locations.
By integrating battery storage, renewable generation, dispatchable generation and intelligent controls, these systems can provide reliable power well before conventional grid upgrades may otherwise be available.
For data centres in particular, the model provides a potential “speed-to-power” solution, allowing projects to commence or expand without being entirely dependent on lengthy grid connection timelines.
Costello said the approach reflected a broader shift in the way energy infrastructure would be developed and financed moving forward.
“Our objective is to make it easier for businesses to access reliable and lower-cost energy infrastructure without having to solve every technology, financing and integration challenge themselves,” he concluded.