Origin Energy boosts its bet on the 12-hour battery technology that could help kick out coal

Big three gentailer Origin Energy has tipped more money into Australian redox flow battery hopeful, Allegro Energy, increasing its bet on the Newcastle-based company’s up to 12-hour long duration energy storage technology.

Allegro said on the weekend that it closed a $17.5 million Series A fundraising round backed by a range of local investors including Origin, Melt Ventures, and Impact Ventures, and global investors, led by The Grantham Foundation in the US.

Allegro has developed its own water-based redox flow batteries (RFB) and supercapacitors that are clean, non-flammable, fully recyclable, and have no reliance on scarce materials or complex supply chains.

Both products use Allegro’s microemulsion electrolyte, which the company says makes for much cheaper and safer energy storage than competing technology.

But the technology’s chief attraction lies in its promise of long duration energy storage – an increasingly important piece of the renewable energy puzzle needed to usher out fossil fuel clunkers like Origin Energy’s Eraring coal plant in New South Wales.

Origin last year took a $4 million, 5 per cent stake in the company and committed to trial the first commercial-scale application of Allegro’s batteries at the site of its Eraring coal plant – which Origin had intended to close in late 2025 but will now keep partially open until August 2027 following a deal with the NSW government.

The Eraring battery trial will be sized at just 100kW and 800kWh, but Origin has also flagged plans to install a 5MW, 12 hour battery (60MWh) either at Eraring or another of its generation sites. The Allegro 800kWh pilot is expected to be completed later this year.

An option for Origin to help fund a “giga-factory” in Newcastle to help meet demand for the RFB technology was also raised in June 2023, when Origin bought its initial stake in Allegro Energy.

Allegro’s co-founder and CEO – and head of the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Newcastle – Thomas Nann says the latest fundraising round will help the company rapidly accelerate its manufacturing capacity.

“We are thrilled to be among the companies to have been given global recognition by The Grantham Foundation while also successfully drawing critical local capital and strategic support from some of the leading names in the renewable energy space,” he said on Sunday.

The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment was founded in 1997 by Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham, with the mission of protecting and improving the health of the global environment. Grantham was joined in the Series A round by Chicago-headquartered Lightbank, known for its disruptive early stage tech investments. 

“We welcome the opportunity to support this revolutionary technology which we believe is poised to change the conversation around clean storage and lead to a rapid adoption of cheaper, cleaner and more abundant energy,” said The Grantham Foundation’s Sam Lefkofsky.

Impact Ventures general partner Piers Grove says its investment will support the ongoing development of Allegro’s “ground-breaking technology” following its early days with EnergyLab, Australia’s largest climate tech startup accelerator.

“Our commitment to supporting founders engaged in deploying critical environmental solutions at scale is captured in Allegro’s vision and potential to transform long-duration energy storage at a global level,” said Grove.

“Allegro Energy’s unique technology has enormous potential to revolutionise the way we store energy,” added Melt Ventures managing partner Trent Bagnall.

“The storage of renewable energy is undoubtedly a huge challenge in the energy transition.The adoption of Allegro Energy technology will be critical to solving this challenge.”

The fresh show of support for Allegro comes just weeks after one of Australia’s biggest long duration battery technology hopefuls, Redflow, was placed into voluntary administration.

The Brisbane-based company has been working for more than a decade on its zinc bromine flow battery technology – which also offers the advantages of longer duration and zero fire risk – but has been struggling on costs, particularly as the price of lithium-based batteries continues to fall.

The company had hoped to launch a megawatt-hour scale version of its battery, known as X10, and had signed an MoU to install a 5 MWh battery with state-owned energy company Stanwell.

But despite gaining support from various government agencies, has struggled to secure matching funding from investors to support the development of the project, which would have featured eight hours of storage.

You can listen to the Energy Insiders Podcast interview with Professor Thomas Nann from June of last year, here.