Australian home battery outfit Redback enters voluntary administration

Australian-owned and operated battery and smart inverter outfit Redback Technologies has entered voluntary administration, with McGrathNicol Restructuring on the hunt for buyers or investors in all or part of the Queensland-based company.

McGrathNicol says partners Anthony Connelly, Mark Holland and Jamie Harris will work with Redback Operations employees, customers and suppliers to continue to trade the business while seeking expressions of interest for its sale or recapitalisation.

Founded in 2015, Redback has been an active player in Australia’s renewable energy industry, including just last week at the Smart Energy Conference in Sydney, where it had a stand promoting its new Hybrid Battery System.

The new product, first unveiled at last years All Energy Australia conference in Melbourne, was due to be launched in the second half of this year, with shipments due to arrive in Australia in June.

At this stage, what led the company entering voluntary administration is unclear. A statement from the administrators on Monday says they are required to investigate the circumstances leading up to their appointment and will report to creditors the results of that work.

“The administrators have retained all company personnel and are continuing its business operations while a transaction is sought for the sale and/or recapitalisation of the business. This includes responding to customer enquiries as they arise,” the statement said.

Less than six months ago, Redback announced it had cut prices across its range of batteries, offering discounts of between $500 and $1000 on retail costs.

Redback’s head of partnerships and training Aaron Moreton said at the time that discounts were being made “in the hopes that the lower costs make sustainable power solutions more accessible to homeowners.”

“Electricity bills continue to rise, and feed-in tariffs are at an all-time low in most regions. There has never been a better time to add a Redback battery to your home’s existing solar system,” Moreton said.

Back in 2016, big three gentailer EnergyAustralia made a $9.3 million investment in Redback as part of a deal to offer its customers a home energy storage package including solar inverter, battery and energy management software.

Some of the company’s home batteries were later embroiled in the ACCC safety recall – which is still active – of some models of LG batteries believed to pose a fire risk.

As Redback explains here, the majority of its energy storage systems use Pylontech battiers, but a small number of LG batteries were used in early model (installed prior to 2020) Redback Smart Hybrids (SH4600/SH5000).

A first meeting of the creditors of the company is scheduled for March 15. Enquires about the sale process should be directed to redback@mcgrathnicol.com.