Redback Technologies receives further funding boost

Australian energy technology company Redback Technologies has received around $1.96 million from the Queensland Government to further advance technology developments.

Queensland Government owned electricity distributor Energy Queensland is investing $1.42 million of staff and resources into a new smart monitoring initiative. Meanwhile, government innovation movement Advance Queensland has awarded Redback Technologies and the University of Queensland a Research Fellowship of $0.54 million in staff and resources to advance the development of smart grid capabilities.

The partnership with Energy Queensland and Advance Queensland signals the next step in Redback’s evolution in delivering low-cost, intelligent energy solutions for its downstream customers, said Philip Livingston, founder and managing director, Redback Technologies and board member of the Australian Solar Council.

Energy Queensland investment

Mark Bailey, Minister for Energy, Biofuels and Water Supply, presented a keynote address at the recent Queensland Energy Storage Summit announcing Energy Queensland will deploy a team coordinator and two mid-level engineers into Redback’s team. The partnership will last three years with the aim of creating and deploying next-generation monitoring solutions that will enable increased intelligence, safety and ultimately, an increased volume of distributed renewables to be deployed on Queensland energy networks.

Energy Queensland’s staff will be co-located at Redback’s headquarters on the University of Queensland’s Long Pocket Campus, allowing for maximum cross-pollination between EQ engineers and Redback’s engineering team. Energy Queensland’s funding follows EnergyAustralia’s AU$9.3 million investment in Redback late last year signalling a trend of utility companies taking interest in Redback’s suite of technologies.

Advance Queensland investment

Advance Queensland has awarded Redback Technologies and the University of Queensland $0.54 million in staff and resources as part of the Research Fellowship 2017 program to advance the development of smart energy grid capabilities with Redback’s technology.

The program will see three data scientists deployed to Redback Technologies with a core focus on making breakthroughs in data management, peer-to-peer energy trading schemes for sustainable cities, as well as knowledge management for microgrid data and microgrid energy storage. They will be located at Redback’s headquarters on the University of Queensland’s Long Pocket campus.