South Australian energy storage company 1414 degrees has launched a bid to go public and raise up to A$50 million to fast track its operations.
1414 Degrees Head of Corporate Service Penelope Bettison, Executive Chairman Dr Kevin Moriarty and Chief Technology Officer Matthew Johnson at the commpany’s Lonsdale plant.
The company has spent a decade and $15 million developing its silicon storage technology and today announced it had lodged a prospectus for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
1414 Degrees proposes to raise a minimum of $30 million – and up to $50 million – at 35 cents per share.
To date, the Adelaide-based company has largely been funded by individuals, families and private fund managers, along with Federal and State Governments.
However, Executive Chairman Dr Kevin Moriarty said more than 8000 investors had pre-registered their interest and 1414 Degrees had reserved $20 million for those investors to “make room for all”.
“This day has been a long time coming for 1414 Degrees and its foundation investors,” Dr Moriarty said.
“In December 2016, we became an unlisted public company, and it was a critical pillar of our pre-IPO planning that we first get our products operating in commercial sites in order to establish a strong value proposition for current and prospective investors. We now have agreements to do that.”
The 1414 technology stores electricity as thermal energy by heating and melting containers full of silicon at a cost estimated to be up to 10 times cheaper than lithium batteries.
Silicon, pictured above, is the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust after oxygen. A tonne of silicon can store enough energy to power 28 houses for a day. Its high latent heat capacity and high melting temperature of 1414C – make it ideal for the storage of large amounts of energy. The process also generates large amounts of clean useable heat, which can easily be utilised for district heating or industrial purposes.
In 2017, 1414 Degrees received a Renewable Technology Fund (RTF) grant from the South Australian Government for a collaboration with SA Water, which will integrate energy generation from biogas waste with storage at the Glenelg Wastewater Treatment Plant in Adelaide’s west.
Last month it announced it would integrate its Thermal Energy Storage System into the existing operations of national poultry grower, Pepe’s Ducks in South Windsor, New South Wales.
The installation will provide Pepe’s Ducks with electricity and heat – predominantly in the form of steam.
This story originally appeared in The Lead. For the original article, click here.