US-based investment giant BlackRock has raised more than AUD 500 million, including a AUD 100 million investment commitment from Clean Energy Finance Corp. (CEFC), to help finance the Waratah Super Battery in New South Wales.

The Waratah Super Battery (WSB), being built by BlackRock battery offshoot Akaysha Energy north of Sydney, is designed to unlock latent transfer capacity in the existing transmission system. It will help to integrate renewable energy and maintain grid reliability by acting as a “shock absorber” during power surges.

Akaysha has been contracted to deliver a battery capable of providing a guaranteed continuous active power capacity of at least 700 MW and a guaranteed useable energy storage capacity of at least 1,400 MWh. The company plans to trade the additional 150 MW/280 MWh of capacity in the electricity market as well as potentially releasing it during off-peak times.

Charlie Reid, BlackRock’s co-head of climate infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region, said the battery will add greater reliability and resilience to the power grid and will help Australia achieve its renewable ambitions.

“We firmly believe battery storage is the critical technology of today, applied both on a small scale in homes and for large-scale battery platforms like the Waratah Super Battery,” said Reid.