REDBACK SECURES MONEY AND MARKETING FROM $9.3 MILLION INVESTMENT

REDBACK Technologies has received a $9.3 million investment from energy retailer EnergyAustralia, to further develop its Generation 2 Smart Hybrid Solar Inverter System.

Under the partnership, EnergyAustralia will promote the energy management system to its 1.7 million customers in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia.

Philip Livingston, founder and managing director of Brisbane-based Redback Technologies (pictured), says the investment will allow the company to continue developing its technologies.

"Our partnership with EnergyAustralia significantly accelerates Redback's technology roadmap and strategic plan for leading the disruptive change required for mass adoption of renewables," he says.

Andrew Perry, EnergyAustralia Executive NextGen, said the investment reflects the energy retailer's commitment to giving consumers more control over their energy consumption in ways that help households save money and reduce carbon emissions.

"We know electricity costs are a concern for many households and the ability to manage consumption is a key to keeping bills low.  With the Redback system the customer can make the most of the energy captured on their own roof tops they decide if they want to use the energy right away, store that energy or even sell it to the electricity grid," Perry says.

"As we've seen with solar systems, electric vehicles and battery storage, people are excited about technology that can help them manage their energy use, reduce carbon emissions and save money."




The inverter includes Redback's cloud enabled intelligent system for analytics and remote control, the Ouija Board. Making use of the Internet of Things and technology gives homeowners and commercial users options through a smart device.

The technology uses machine learning to gather intelligence over time, learning from user preferences as well as drawing data from external factors like the weather.

"It is Redback's mission to build infrastructure for the future grid, infrastructure that enables grid stability without reliance on centralised fossil generators. Democratising access to clean energy by shifting reliance to decentralised renewable generation, whereby allowing consumers to monitor, store and control their own solar energy assets as a means of ensuring power is there when they need it," continues Livingston.

"Redback's growth is creating significant employment opportunities for those in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics sectors. We are always on the lookout for thought leaders who are passionate about changing the world."

Redback's solar solution is hosted on Microsoft's Azure IoT Suite cloud platform, ensuring easy updates and upgrades as the technology develops. It runs on a cloud-enabled intelligent system for analytics and remote control, so households can control when they use their energy such as during evening demand peaks via a smartphone app.

Redback Technologies is based at the University of Queensland's start-up incubator iLab and recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the university to commercialise their research and development in the solar space. It also recently announced it was working with fellow Brisbane company Redflow on its ZCell battery system. The company will add 60 new jobs before the end of 2016.