BP ventures has made a A$20 million (US$13.6 million) investment in 5B Holdings, an Australia-based renewable energy company, which BP said has technology to enable the rapid deployment of solar power at scale.
The investment closes 5B’s A$55 million Series B funding round, which was co-led by existing investors the AES Corporation and Artesian, BP (LON:BP) said in a statement Thursday.
5B’s leading solar technology, the 5B Maverick, consists of up to 90 solar panels mounted on specially designed frames that can be unfolded and installed at speed. To date, 5B has deployed its technology across more than 100 sites worldwide with total generating capacity of over 60MW.
This year 5B Maverick was used to deploy panels with 1.1MW capacity – covering the equivalent of a soccer pitch – in a single day, with a team of only 10 at AES’ Andes Solar II B facility in the Atacama Desert in Chile.
The capital injection from BP ventures will support 5B’s technology development and growth. It will also accelerate 5B’s international expansion, and its plans to establish a manufacturing and assembly hub in North America, noted BP.
© Supplied by BP“5B’s innovative solar technology can deliver low-cost power generation at speed, helping to meet rising electricity demand. This deal is a fantastic example of BP investing in a business that will support our renewable energy transition growth engine. And is another strand of our multi-energy vector country strategy that will support the decarbonisation of energy in Australia,” said Johnathan Stone, Principal at BP ventures, who will join the 5B board of directors.
BP’s gas & low carbon energy (G&LCE) business and 50-50 joint venture, Lightsource bp, together with 5B will explore the best opportunities to collaborate on the deployment of 5B’s Maverick technology on future BP and Lightsource bp projects. All three companies will continue to work on deploying solar energy to meet the rising demand for reliable, accessible, and affordable electricity, added BP.
BP ventures was set up more than 10 years ago to identify and invest in private, high growth, game-changing technology companies, accelerating innovation across the entire energy spectrum. Since then, BP said it has invested over US$1 billion in technology companies with more than 250 co-investors.
bp ventures focuses on connecting and growing new energy business. It makes strategic equity investments across a portfolio of relevant technology businesses including advanced mobility, low carbon and digital.