{"id":45434,"date":"2023-10-20T15:43:34","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:43:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/brisbane-startup-redback-technologies-secures-9-3-million-strategic-investment-from-energyaustralia-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:43:34","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:43:34","slug":"brisbane-startup-redback-technologies-secures-9-3-million-strategic-investment-from-energyaustralia-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/brisbane-startup-redback-technologies-secures-9-3-million-strategic-investment-from-energyaustralia-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Brisbane startup Redback Technologies secures $9.3 million strategic investment from EnergyAustralia – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Brisbane-based startup has scored a $9.3 million strategic investment from EnergyAustralia to further develop its solar inverter and help Australians save money on their energy.<\/p>\n

Redback Technologies offers a Smart Hybrid Solar Inverter system which combines a smart solar inverter, battery enclosure and \u201cintelligent\u201d energy management software into one package.<\/p>\n

This package allows users to decide how they want to use, save and sell the energy captured from their solar panels via a smartphone app.<\/p>\n

It marks the first major investment from EnergyAustralia\u2019s NextGen business unit, with discussions between the two companies beginning more than a year and a half ago, Redback founder and managing director Philip Livingston says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was initially a discussion that surrounded the development of cross-collaboration in relation to grants and the like, but the conversation quickly turned into one of interest in Redback on a more intimate level, with them wanting to be more involved,\u201d Livingston tells StartupSmart<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The sizeable investment and strategic commitment comes down to a close alignment between the two companies\u2019 business models and values, Livingston says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing that was really quite evident at the start was that we had a similar market view,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs energy markets become a bit more sophisticated and leveraged around IP-related solutions and the prevalence of big data, consumers will be given greater and greater choice with regards to how they consume energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re two ships sailing in the same direction, and it makes sense that we\u2019d find common ground. It\u2019s an exciting road now.\u201d<\/p>\n

For EnergyAustralia, which now has 2.5 million customers, the significant investment in a local startup is a signal to the wider community that funding is on offer for innovative ideas in the renewable energy space.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a Redback system customers can manage their energy consumptions so they not only save money, but reduce their carbon emissions,\u201d EnergyAustralia executive Andrew Perry says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re proud to be partnering with a company that\u2019s driving Australian innovation in a way that\u2019s good for customers and good for the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

The partnership will see Redback continue to develop its software and EnergyAustralia focus on commercialise this technology, Livingston says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur role is to build the technology that enables consumers greater choice, and EnergyAustralia will leverage that for new and exciting business models that provide lower cost and cleaner energy,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnergyAustralia is just a natural fit \u2013 they understand where the market is going and provide technology to service that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Redback\u2019s system aims to help users avoid drawing energy from the grid during expensive peak times, allowing them to run major appliances at a time when there is excess solar energy on offer.<\/p>\n

The large majority of the cash injection will be going towards hiring more team members to further develop the startup\u2019s software and create the \u201cnext generation of Redback\u201d, Livingston says, including updates to the system\u2019s machine learning function which helps it become more intelligent over time.<\/p>\n

Redback was always on the hunt for a strategic partner rather than an outside venture capital round, Livingston says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to be embedded with a strategic partner that could allow us not only funding but to have a partner in the market that we could leverage with go to market strategies to underwrite the business,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

He says more Australian founders should look outside the box when it comes to funding rounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorporate venturing should be taken more seriously \u2013 it\u2019s something that\u2019s not done enough,\u201d Livingston says.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than looking at the standard functioning of how to access capital, be entrepreneurial and understand the motivations of potential partners, and be entrepreneurial with how you structure your go to market plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter, LinkedIn.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Brisbane-based startup has scored a $9.3 million strategic investment from EnergyAustralia to further develop its solar inverter and help<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,18,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45434"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}