RayGen Resources, a developer of utility-scale solar and long-duration energy storage, raised A$127 million (~$76 million) in a Series D funding round.
The funding round was led by a technology company, SLB, with A$31 million (~$19 million) follow-on investment along with the execution of a RayGen-SLB Strategic Deployment Agreement (SDA), designed to accelerate the technology’s path to the global energy market.
Other new investors in the Series D funding round include infrastructure project delivery company Quanta Services, Oxy Technology Ventures and Breakthrough Victoria, Equinor Ventures, AGL Energy, and Photon Energy Group. Other existing shareholders have also participated in this round.
“We believe RayGen’s next-generation solar thermal hydro energy storage technology can provide clean and flexible energy to address the intermittency challenge of renewable energy. We look forward to deploying their solutions on a global scale,” said Irlan Amir, SLB Vice President, Renewables & Energy Efficiency.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has continued its support with an additional A$17 million (~$10 million) boost to the A$10 million (~$6 million) funding agreement announced last year.
SLB Vice President, Renewables & Energy Efficiency, Irlan Amir, said: “We believe RayGen’s next-generation solar thermal hydro energy storage technology can provide clean and flexible energy to address the intermittency challenge of renewable energy. We look forward to deploying their solutions on a global scale.”
The company also mentioned that its asset at Carwarp, Victoria, is said to be one of the largest operating next-generation long-duration energy storage projects and is under an offtake agreement with AGL.
According to Mercom’s Annual and Q4 2024 Solar Funding and M&A Report, Global VC and private equity funding in the solar sector in 2024 came to $4.5 billion in 60 deals, 36% lower than the $7 billion raised in 70 deals in 2023.
In March, SmartSolar, a rooftop solar solution provider, raised $1.85 million in seed funding. The funding was led by Picus Capital and 2degrees, along with participation from early-stage venture capital firm Iterative.
