Big battery seals lifetime service deal as it sizes up to meet market and regulatory demands

Akaysha Energy has signed a long-term service agreement for its Ulinda Park battery energy storage system in Queensland that will help the big battery to meet its market and regulatory obligations, including the requirements of the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme.

Hitachi Energy announced on Wednesday that it has signed a 20-year service agreement with Akaysha for the 155 megawatt (MW), 298 megawatt-hour (MWh) Ulinda Park battery energy storage system (BESS), the first phase of which was brought online in December 2025.

Located adjacent to the Western Downs Substation near Hopeland, the battery aims to facilitate the rapid expansion of wind and solar capacity across the region, including through a second stage that will take it to 350 MW and 1,078 MWh.

In mid-2023, Akayasha announced that it had underpinned the first stage of the Ulinda project with a “first of its kind,” 10-year revenue swap and risk hedging deal that will allow it to keep operational flexibility to optimise its bidding across energy and frequency control markets.

For the second stage of Ulinda Park, which will expand the battery’s capacity by a further 195 MW and 780MWh, Akaysha has been awarded a contract through federal Labor’s Capacity Investment Scheme.

This week’s 20-year deal signs Ulinda up to Hitachi’s HMAX Energy suite of AI-powered services, which the electronics giant says will “predict, and prevent operational disruptions by combining long-term planning with continuous monitoring, predictive insights, and preventive maintenance, supported by 24/7 remote and on-site expertise.”

The agreement also establishes “clear accountability for performance and availability” across the full asset lifecycle, Hitachi says.

“As Australia accelerates renewables integration, reliability, predictability, and scale become critical differentiators for power conversion solutions,” said Massimo Danieli, CEO of the grid automation business unit at Hitachi Energy.

“The country’s energy profile and mix of resources uniquely demonstrates what a digitally-enabled, distributed grid can achieve.

“Hitachi Energy is proud to play a key role in Ulinda Park operations so the assets can operate safely, meet market and regulatory demands, and deliver the fast response for now and for the future.”

Wolf Mueller Hitachi Energy’s CEO of service, says the future energy system will be built on asset intelligence.

“Battery storage projects like Ulinda Park show the powerful combination of deep technology expertise, advanced digital skills and long-term service partnerships – supporting customers throughout the lifecycle of their assets,” Mueller says.

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