5B secures Series A investment & partnership with AES, a leading global energy business
Announcement posted by 5B 30 Jul 2020
5B, an Australian clean technology innovator, and developer of the Maverick solution, has recently closed its Series A investment round of AUD 12 million, including investments from The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES). The investment will fund continued development and global rollout of its Maverick solution, platform and ecosystem - accelerating 5B to deliver on the promise from its Maverick solution of the simplest, fastest, smartest and lowest cost solar solutions possible for its partners and customers.
A key pillar of this funding round was the strategic investment by AES, a Fortune 500 company that generates and distributes electrical power, with over 35 gigawatts (GW) of power generation under operation globally, alongside the establishment of a strategic partnership between 5B & AES to deliver Maverick solutions for AES’s projects across the globe.
The Maverick solution is 5B’s flagship offering - a modular, plug & play solar solution which is pre-fabricated in a factory and rapidly deployed onsite - accelerating, reducing cost and streamlining delivery of solar projects. “Our Maverick solution is defining the next generation for solar power and the true potential of how fast, simple, flexible and low cost it should and will be.” said Chris McGrath, 5B’s Co-founder and CEO. “5B has successfully demonstrated the power of our Maverick solution in the Australian market and now AES is bringing its strength to bear as we scale our solution globally and continue to unlock its full potential.”
AES intends to deploy the MAVERICK solution across many of the projects in its expected 2 to 3 GW of annual renewables growth. This will begin with two pioneering solar projects in Panama - with AES Panama fast-tracking the delivery of a 2 Megawatt (MW) project this year, and in Chile, as a part of the expansion of its 10 MW Los Andes solar facility in the Atacama Desert in the north of the country.
“Solar is the most abundant clean energy source in the world, and 5B’s innovative design produces twice the energy for any given area,” said Andrés Gluski, President and CEO of AES. “In addition, a project using 5B’s technology can be built in a third of the time when compared with conventional solar. These significant advantages will help us meet our customers growing needs in today’s everchanging environment.“
Providing both strong validation and international demand, this powerful collaboration will undoubtedly accelerate 5B towards achievement of its mission to deliver gigawatts of its MAVERICK solution globally, including the world’s largest solar project, SunCable’s 10 GW Australia-ASEAN Power Link, planned for delivery with the Maverick solution in 2023. AES also have a demonstrated track record of acceleration of innovative technology platforms in the energy sector - including through its co-creation of Fluence, the world’s largest grid scale energy storage business, and Uplight, the US’s leading digital energy management platform - providing exciting opportunities for collaboration and across these technology platforms.
Speaking of the newly founded partnership with AES, McGrath says “The potential of the partnership we have formed is hugely exciting and palpable to all involved: AES share our vision for a clean energy future and the significance of 5B’s contribution to this, they are incredibly well placed to accelerate us on this mission – across its access to capital, global pipeline of projects and customers, depth of sophistication and experience in the market and portfolio of world leading technology businesses, and critically, we enjoy a genuine and strong resonance between our values.”
5B acknowledges and thanks everyone who has recognised, supported and contributed to its vision and mission to date - including its, investors, partners, customers, suppliers, advisors, collaborators and supporters. Specifically, 5B notes the support and participation in the investment round by Artesian, through its Clean Energy Seed Fund (co-invested in by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, through its Clean Energy Innovation Fund); 5B’s advisers Bandera Capital, Schimann Legal & Advisory, LegalVision, Trover Tax, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick; the ever giving Startmate program and community; and lastly, but most importantly, its team of superstars, who have tirelessly and passionately transformed 5B and Maverick from its backyard origins to being poised and ready for global impact.
The next phase of 5B’s growth will see it rolling out exciting initiatives including a digital platform for access to its Maverick solution, access to options for flexible solar financing of Maverick solutions and expansion of its global footprint and ecosystem of market, supply chain and delivery partners. 5B encourages you all to reach out to the team or join the journey and follow 5B on LinkedIn, Facebook, T witter and Instagram.
Contact
For more information or requests for interviews please see our website or get in touch: Lindsey Guest - Marketing Manager
+61 (0) 480 242 289
marketing@5b.com.au | w ww.5b.com.au
About 5B
5B is a clean technology innovator, founded in 2013 by solar engineers, Chris McGrath and Eden Tehan. 5B's mission is to accelerate the transformation of the world to a clean energy future by developing and delivering technology and solutions that make clean energy more competitive, accessible and powerful than ever before. We have transformed delivery of solar projects from the ground up with our flagship technology, MAVERICK; a plug & play, prefabricated solar block that is folded up, packed onto a truck, shipped to site and deployed in minutes. This enables our customers to deliver solar projects simpler, faster, smarter, more flexibly and at lowest cost. 5B's technology development & pilot production takes place in our Sydney headquarters, with our Australian assembly partner IXL Solar based in Adelaide. We also have presence in the US, South Africa, Germany and China. Our name, 5B, is a constant reminder of the almost infinite amount of energy potential in the 5 billion years of sunshine the earth has left, and is intended to provoke the question ‘How will we use it?’. Please reach out to us at: www.5B.com.au or i nfo@5b.com.au.
About AES
The AES Corporation (NYSE: AES) is a Fortune 500 global power company. We provide affordable, sustainable energy to 14 countries through our diverse portfolio of distribution businesses as well as thermal and renewable generation facilities. Our workforce is committed to operational excellence and meeting the world's changing power needs. Our 2019 revenues were $10 billion and we own and manage $34 billion in total assets. To learn more, please visit www.aes.com. FollowAESonTwitter@TheAESCorp.