Akaysha Energy and Gunvor Group Sign Landmark Offtake Agreement for Australian Large Scale Battery Storage
The risk-hedging offtake product, known as a Battery Revenue Swap Agreement, provides revenue certainty for the Brendale BESS while allowing Akaysha Energy to optimise operations and respond to market signals. Currently under construction, the project is scheduled to commence operations by early-to-mid 2026. The parties have also agreed to investigate similar arrangements for Akaysha’s Japanese Battery storage projects.
Located in Brisbane’s outer Northern suburbs, the Brendale BESS will have a capacity of 205 MW / 410 MWh, making it capable of charging from excess solar generation and storing enough energy to power up to 200,000 homes for up to 2 hours. The project’s Grid Forming capability will increase the robustness of the network voltage in the nearby major Queensland transmission infrastructure.
Market Innovation & Economic Viability
For Akaysha, the Offtake Agreement demonstrates its position as a market leader in securing innovative offtake agreements. This is the third Over-the-Counter (OTC) contract across its portfolio, with these bilateral offtake contracts providing better alignment and outcomes for both parties.
This Offtake Agreement follows the A$650 million debt financing Akaysha secured from a domestic and global syndicate of eleven banks to fund the construction of its 1,660MWh Orana BESS, complemented by a 12-year, 200 MW virtual toll offtake agreement with EnergyAustralia. And in July 2023, Akaysha completed what was the first Battery Revenue Swap Agreement of its kind at the time, with Re2 Capital, for its 150MW Ulinda Park BESS, in Queensland’s Western Downs.
With this Offtake Agreement in place, Akaysha’s total contracted capacity across its portfolio of four assets in construction now exceeds 1.6 gigawatts.
Importantly, the Offtake Agreement demonstrates the economic viability of large-scale batteries and that they can deliver appropriate returns through wholesale market pricing, which will further accelerate the deployment of energy storage infrastructure.
Paul Curnow, Managing Director and Chief Commercial Officer at Akaysha Energy, commented:
“This offtake with Gunvor highlights the growing sophistication of financial products Akaysha is developing with its partners to support Australia’s evolving energy landscape. The partnership ensures revenue certainty for Brendale BESS while preserving the flexibility needed to adapt to market dynamics. It’s an essential step in advancing large-scale battery projects like ours, which are critical for strengthening grid stability, ensuring long-term reliability, and supporting the transition as coal-fired power stations retire.”
With significant retirement of Queensland’s coal generation over the next decade, large-scale BESS projects like Brendale will play a pivotal role in enhancing grid stability and ensuring the grid remains resilient during this transition, particularly in managing unforeseen coal generator outages as they retire and addressing renewable intermittency.
Commenting on how the Agreement points to the growing opportunity of the Australian energy market and the role global partners can play supporting the transition to a more sustainable energy future, David Maher, Head of APAC Power Trading & Origination, added:
“This partnership will be an important part of Gunvor’s APAC strategy as we expand our involvement in the energy transition and provide risk management services. This landmark Agreement reflects the growing role of batteries in delivering much-needed flexible and reliable energy solutions. We look forward to furthering our commitment to innovative, sustainable energy solutions.”
Energy Trading Capabilities
Akaysha’s expanding portfolio is backed by a growing energy trading team, leveraging advanced strategies to navigate Australia’s fast-paced NEM (National Electricity Market), where prices fluctuate every five minutes. Using cutting-edge tools like algorithmic auto-bidding, the team optimises asset performance and maximises market participation.