Twynam's Earth Fund is excited to announce our latest investment in Hachiko, a software platform accelerating the transition to renewables. Hachiko increases the adoption of battery energy storage systems (BESS) through smart optimisation and portfolio management.
Hachiko’s mission: Accelerating the adoption of battery systems to power renewable energy uptake
As the world transitions to more renewable energy sources, efficient energy storage solutions are critical to managing intermittency and stabilising the grid. With lithium-ion battery costs more than halving since 2017 and other BESS technologies rapidly coming to market, they have become the frontrunner energy storage technology.
The Unscheduled BESS (comprising of Commercial & Industrial and Non-Scheduled BESS) sector provides a compelling case for enabling uptake of renewable generation.
In the time it takes a 200MW BESS in Australia to be developed and construction commenced, 40 x 5MW BESS projects can be developed, funded, constructed, and energised. These smaller 200kW – 5MW battery systems can be built cheaply and quickly alongside solar to provide energy to both the grid and, where applicable, the site they have been deployed (e.g. an industrial warehouse or a farm).
However, complexity in configuration, onboarding, and operation creates the need for costly bespoke integrations, causing an estimated 50% of viable projects to be disqualified by developers. In addition, the absence of purpose-built software that caters to more sophisticated means of trading the output from a portfolio of batteries means that a lot of value is left on the table.
The Need for Smarter Energy Storage
The value proposition: BESS operators can enhance operational revenue by up to 45% and double their viable projects. Driving profitability through optimised energy trading, portfolio management, and streamlined site integration.
The platform offers a modular, cloud-based B2B SaaS solution designed to help Unscheduled BESS owners and operators overcome technical and economic barriers to scaling their portfolios.
Installed Unscheduled BESS capacity is set to quadruple in the next two years in Australia, and many orders of magnitude more are possible over the years that follow. By simplifying site onboarding, reducing operational costs, and maximising profitability, Hachiko is poised to play a pivotal role in the market’s expansion.
Built by Experience
Founded in Sydney in 2024, Hachiko is led by Rakhesh Martyn, a distributed energy expert (and part time comedian!) with deep domain experience, having been both a developer and customer of clean energy innovations. The team comprises of software and data science experts who also possess direct domain experience.
Twynam’s capital will allow Hachiko to develop their full platform, including innovative simulation tools that enable more effective and transparent development and trading of BESS projects.
With early interest from significant developers and Energy Services Companies, and a first customer secured, Hachiko have demonstrated strong market traction and a clear pathway to scale.
Backing Hachiko for the long run
By enabling the more effective rollout of energy storage solutions at scale, Hachiko have the potential to facilitate the displacement of up to 157 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually by 2050 - a testament to the platform's scalability and environmental impact.
At Twynam, we are thrilled to support Rakhesh and Hachiko as they redefine the role of BESS in the unscheduled sector and empower more businesses to embrace renewable energy solutions profitably and effectively.
