Geli, a leading supplier of design, automation, and management software for the energy storage industry, has announced a US$3 million investment from the Southern Cross Renewable Energy Venture Capital Fund (REVC), which is backed by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and Softbank China Venture Capital (SBCVC).
The Silicon Valley startup will use the capital to establish a regional hub in Australia in order to expand its operations in the Asia-Pacific region and encourage more businesses and households to invest in renewable energy.
Geli’s platform enables industry stakeholders to quickly determine the optimal solar-plus-storage solution for many different uses and will automate systems in the field with the same algorithms used in the design process.
Acting ARENA CEO Ian Kay said Geli’s software platform can bring energy storage together with different sources of electricity generation, operating them as efficiently as possible and achieving cost savings.
He said that as battery storage became more prolific in Australia, effective software tools would become increasingly important.
“There is an abundance of unused space on office, warehouse and factory rooftops around Australia where new solar panels could be installed. Many companies have also already invested in solar, and would benefit from adding storage,” Mr Kay said.
“Geli’s solution will give customers more value from their solar and storage systems, and could present a compelling case for more Australian businesses to invest in renewable energy.”
Geli’s CEO Dan Loflin said one of the company’s core differentiators was its ability to easily integrate new hardware and energy applications onto the Geli platform.
“Our partners have recognised the ability to boost thin PV project returns by integrating storage and other energy assets,” Mr Loflinn noted.
“This investment by Southern Cross REVC enables us to rapidly expand the breadth of integration partnerships with both hardware and software players.”
Scull, Managing Director at Southern Cross REVC, said adding energy storage managed by Geli software to a solar PV system provides the ability to store and dispatch energy when it is needed most, such as at night or during periods of peak customer demand.
According to him, traditionally strong solar markets such as Australia have grid compensation (or feed in tariff) policies that now favour the use of Geli’s platform.
“The market pull for software solutions like Geli’s is growing rapidly. By virtue of being a pure-play software company, Geli is able to work with many of the most well-known names in the industry, enabling them to deliver solutions tailored to their clients’ needs,” Mr Scull concluded.
