Chevron takes a punt on solar-plus-storage tech

Australia’s RayGen promises more powerful and efficient long duration solar storage solution

Baseload dispatchable renewable power is the Holy Grail of the energy transition. An Australian technology company promising to deliver it has lured big-hitters such as US oil supermajor Chevron and oilfield services giant Schlumberger into its latest funding round. The addition of other strategic partners also bodes well for commercialisation and rollout of the solar-plus-storage solution.

RayGen Resources, an Australian tech innovator and developer of solar-plus-storage projects, yesterday completed a AU$27 million private funding round that includes strategic investments from utility AGL Energy, solar and water company Photon Energy, oilfield services giant Schlumberger and Chevron.

Flattening the curve of solar PV generation to provide dispatchable round-the-clock generation is a major challenge facing sun-drenched electricity grids seeking to harness abundant renewable resources.

The correlated power generation profile of solar projects in renewable energy zones (REZs) leads to cur…