BP ventures, the investment platform of bp, has invested A$20 million (US$13.5 million) in Australian renewables company 5B to support the development and implementation of its 5B Maverick solar technology.
The investment completes 5B’s A$55 million (US$37 million) series B funding round, which was co-led by investors AES Corporation and Artesian. The cash injection from bp will go towards accelerating 5B’s international expansion and its plans to establish a manufacturing and assembly hub in the US.
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“5B’s innovative solar technology can deliver low-cost power generation at speed, helping to meet rising electricity demand. This deal is a fantastic example of bp investing in a business that will support our renewable energy transition growth engine,” said Johnathan Stone, principal at bp ventures.
The 5B Maverick technology is a solar deployment method designed to allow for rapid installation. It consists of up to 90 panels mounted on foldable frames, which 5B says it has deployed at over 100 sites to date, with a total capacity of over 60MW.
The company said that a 1.1MW system was deployed at AES’ Andes Solar II B facility in the Atacama Desert in Chile in a single day with a team of ten.
5B also confirmed plans to collaborate with Lightsource bp, the solar developer co-owned by bp, to explore opportunities to deploy 5B Maverick technology at Lightsource bp sites in the future.
Chris McGrath, CEO and co-founder of 5B, said the financing deal “presents a great opportunity to deploy our 5B Maverick technology across a range of global markets. The backing of such an active and experienced venture capital team is a powerful validation of our technology and ability to support bp as it transitions to an integrated energy company.”