Arenko Group, a leading battery software services provider to the multi-billion-dollar global battery automation market, is pleased to announce the sale of its 41MW Bloxwich battery asset to Gresham House Energy Storage Fund PLC (“Gresham House”), Great Britain’s largest operational battery storage fund, for a total cash consideration of £20.1 million, with further potential earnout payments.
The Bloxwich project was developed by Arenko and utilises their recognised and leading battery software and controls platform and, post-acquisition, will continue to operate and optimise Bloxwich. The sale of the Bloxwich battery asset significantly strengthens Arenko’s balance sheet to enable the Company to fund expansion of its software and services platform as it becomes a fully digital business.
Arenko provides an AI driven, highly automated software platform that enables 24hr autonomous operations. The platform maximises the economic value of its clients’ assets by optimising trading across the UK’s physical electricity Balancing Mechanism market, European Power Exchange (“EPEX”) and other ancillary service markets.
Under Arenko ownership, Bloxwich was the first battery to be autonomously traded in the Balancing Mechanism and has significantly outperformed other batteries in that market, which stands testament to Arenko’s innovative software architecture and neural network platform. In mid-May 2020, Bloxwich was used to provide upward and downward reserve flexibility to National Grid in the UK’s first-of-its-kind trial using an energy storage system (‘ESS’). Existing upward and downward reserve services are largely provided by large Combined Cycle Gas Turbines and other thermal generation at a significant financial cost and creating significant carbon dioxide emissions. ESS are an exciting and more cost-effective source of grid flexibility and are likely to be central to the zero-carbon emissions grid of the future.
Arenko believes digitally connected, highly automated battery storage assets are an essential part of the energy transition story, helping provide instantaneous power and frequency support to the grid. The recent COVID-19 crisis has reshaped the UK power network, causing renewable power to meet up to 60% of daily demand* and highlighting the essential role that will be played by battery storage and other flexible assets in the net zero grid of the future. Arenko’s software platform is designed to maximise the availability and profitability of battery storage assets and will help accelerate the transition towards a fully decarbonized power system.
This announcement builds on the statement of 15 June 2020, when Arenko expanded its platform capabilities from the physical balancing mechanism market into the intra-day EPEX market. This new module allows battery asset owners to diversify their revenue streams and increase the ultimate return on investment of their assets without incurring incremental costs.
Arenko looks forward to expanding its long-term service relationship with Gresham House and aims to become the partner of choice for battery asset owners across the UK.
Rupert Newland, Founder and CEO of Arenko Group, said:
“This is a transformational deal for Arenko as it marks our transition from an asset owner to a software service provider. Our ambition is to help multiple battery storage owners to fully optimise their asset performance by using our software. We see batteries and other flexible assets playing a meaningful role in the energy transition and believe intelligent AI software platforms will be a crucial enabler to unlock value from batteries globally. We look forward to working with Gresham House and other battery asset owners to help them maximise the value of their assets in the future.”
Ben Guest, Fund Manager, Gresham House Energy Storage Fund PLC
“We are delighted to have completed this acquisition. Arenko is one of only a handful of innovative and technically-capable operators and optimisers of energy storage systems in the market, as demonstrated by their recent announcements. We look forward to working with them as the market burgeons in Great Britain.”