Renewables asset management company Quinbrook has acquired Habitat Energy, a UK-based grid battery trading platform.
Quinbrook plans to support Oxford-based Habitat to further develop its technology suite and advanced machine learning capabilities, continuing Habitat’s expansion into Australia and also the US.
In the US, initial focus will be on the ERCOT market in Texas followed by other US independent system operators shortly thereafter.
Habitat will be deployed to optimise battery storage assets within the Quinbrook portfolio, while continuing to offer its services independently to new and existing clients around the world.
Habitat Energy’s team comprises data scientists, software engineers, battery storage experts and power market trading professionals.
The company has developed and uses advanced machine learning and algorithmic capabilities to optimise the strategic and financial value of battery storage assets within deregulated power markets, both standalone and co-located with renewables.
The acquisition of Habitat is expected to “significantly strengthen” Quinbrook’s capabilities in flexible energy solutions and storage and “strongly complements” Quinbrook’s existing Flexitricity and Velox Power platforms in the UK.
The imminent completion of the Rassau synchronous condenser in Wales will also solidify Quinbrook’s early move into grid support infrastructure enabling more variable and weather-dependent renewable generation capacity to be safely accommodated on the UK power grid.
David Scaysbrook, co-founder and managing partner of Quinbrook, said: “We believe that the ‘Net Zero’ power systems of tomorrow are moving rapidly and inexorably to a place where renewable power assets and storage in all its forms will be managed and optimized with advanced algorithmic capabilities.
“The transactional velocity and complexity will quickly overwhelm the ability of current practices to cope with the scale of the transition now underway.
“We believe Habitat is truly ahead of the game in devising ‘state of the art’ methods at the leading edge of data science combined with the power markets know-how to maintain competitive edge.
“Habitat is a unique business with a stand-out team and technology platform that we plan to take well beyond battery storage.
“This is an important strategic move for Quinbrook and will further differentiate our capabilities as a specialist investor in next generation renewables.”