ARENA powers up clean tech startup Orkestra with $2.77 million for EV charger plans

Federal government-backed Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has awarded software startup Orkestra $2.77 million in co-funding to help fast-track the rollout of commercial electric vehicle chargers.

The $5.5m software project is also being backed by electricity giants AGL and EnergyAustralia, as well as motoring organisations RACV and RAA and commercial real estate firm CBRE, aims to bring forward EV charger deployment by three years, and will hopefully reduce the sector’s dependence on government subsidies.

The funding is part of ARENA’s Driving the Nation program.

The Melbourne-based SaaS platform for renewable energy project feasibility analysis and asset management launched in 2020, and 12 months ago, raised $2 million in a Seed round led by Tidal Ventures. The software developed by Orkestra makes it faster and easier to model and present investment opportunities for new energy projects using commercial solar and batteries.

The startup is now turning its attention to the EV charging sector with this funding

Co-CEO and cofounder James Allston said the new software will be purpose-built for EV charger projects, enabling businesses to analyse the feasibility of commercial EV charging stations and track ongoing financial performance.

“Our vision is to build trust in EV charging as a bankable investment by providing tools that give operators and investors an accurate understanding of the financial performance of existing and new commercial EV charger assets,” he said.

“This will not only speed up deployment but also improve the profitability of assets, making EV charging a more attractive opportunity for businesses across Australia – similar to what we’ve seen in the C&I solar and battery segment over the last few years.”

ARENA CEO Darren Miller said “Orkestra’s technology will play a valuable role in the clean energy transition.

“By investing in and supporting emerging Australian companies and ideas, ARENA is able to drive both economic growth and our efforts to meet critical climate goals,” he said.

“Orkestra’s feasibility modelling software will provide the tools needed by businesses to better understand the financial performance of EV chargers, ultimately accelerating their deployment and supporting our goals of decarbonising transport.”

The EV charger software will support fleet operators, public charging networks, and destination charging sites such as hotels and workplaces.

Orkestra is currently looking for potential users for their beta project. Details at orkestra.energy/ev-charging