Sun Cable, the company behind the Australia-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink) project, has entered into voluntary administration.
Three executives at FTI Consulting have been appointed as voluntary administrators of Sun Cable to determine the appropriate next steps which will likely involve a process of seeking expressions of interest for either a recapitalisation or sale of the business.
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The appointment was made after a lack of agreement on the company’s objectives among the shareholders, which comprises, among others, Australian billionaires Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest.
Despite funding proposals being provided, a consensus on the future direction and funding structure of the company was not reached.
In March last year, Sun Cable raised US$150 million in Series B funding for the development of the subsea cable project, AAPowerLink, which would feature 17 – 20GWp of solar PV and 36 – 42GWh of energy storage to supply power to Singapore via a 4,200km of subsea cables. The installation, planned for Australia’s Northern Territory, was deemed investment ready in June 2022.
Soon after, the company sought a trio of financial advisors – Macquarie Capital, Moelis & Company and MA Financial Group – to advance the multi-gigawatt project to financial close by 2024 and raise more than A$30 billion (US$20.7 billion) of capital required to fund the AAPowerLink project.
Last October the company announced the project was 50% over-subscribed for offtake interest in Singapore and received letters of intent for almost 2.5GW, more than the intended supply of 1.75GW.
David Griffin, founder and CEO of Sun Cable, said: “Sun Cable has made extraordinary progress in developing the AAPowerLink. This project remains well placed for completion. As we have progressed our work, the demand for delivering reliable, dispatchable 24/7 renewable energy in the NT and the region has risen materially. Sun Cable looks forward to developing and operating the projects to meet this demand.”
Mike Cannon-Brookes, chair of Sun Cable, reiterated his support to the company’s next chapter.
“Sun Cable has achieved so much since it was founded in 2018. I’m confident it will play a huge role in delivering green energy for the world, right here from Australia,” Cannon-Brookes said.