Gransolar to “supercharge” Australian solar and battery plans with new investor

Spanish renewables outfit Gransolar says it has “supercharged” its solar, storage – and even green hydrogen – plans for the Australian market, after the company secured a major investment from international financier, Trilantic Europe.

Gransolar is a group of vertically integrated solar and storage companies that has been active in Australia since 2017, mostly through its GRS solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) business, and more recently through its E22 battery division.

In Australia, is has built more than 1GW of PV and battery storage in Australia, including the 200MW Blue Grass solar farm in Queensland, which is being developed by Spanish company X-Elio and last month attracted the backing of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

In terms of storage, Gransolar last year started rolling out 13 large-scale batteries across South Australia, Victoria and NSW with a collective capacity of 300 megawatts and one to two hours of storage each.

The investment deal will see Trilantic take a 60% stake in the Gransolar Group, with Gransolar’s management team to continue in its role, while the funds are used to “supercharge [its] growth plans” in Australia, which it described as a key market for the company.

“Australia continues to be one of the Gransolar Group’s most important markets and Trilantic will further strengthen our position here,” said Carlos Lopez, the managing director of Gransolar Australia, in a statement on Monday.

“The investment demonstrates the confidence experienced investors have in our business, its potential and our ability to deliver solar and storage solutions for our clients.”

The renewables developer has forecast revenue growth above 50% for this financial year, and expects to continue on this trajectory driven by its success in Australia.

“2022 is set to be another strong year for Gransolar Group in Australia and our local workforce,” said Lopez.

“We are looking forward to announcing new solar and storage projects in the coming months, and helping the country achieve its emissions reductions targets.”

Globally, Gransolar has completed more than 100 solar farms in 17 countries. In comments on the company’s shift into large-scale battery storage, Lopez said early last year that it was a logical move for a solar company.

“There is not much difference in developing a battery project and a utility-scale solar farm,” he said. “Of course it has its technology challenges because it’s a different technology. But this is part of our core business.”

Lopez also said that Gransolar was investigating the potential to become a green hydrogen manufacturer, particularly in Australia.

“It’s still in the very early stages to be honest with you,” he said in February 2021. “We believe it is going to be more mid to long-term, but we are getting ready.

“We don’t have any projects yet, however we have been asked by developers about the potentiality of hydrogen overseas and here.”