ARENA Community Batteries Round 2

ARENA Community Batteries Round 2

  • Funding from $5 million to $20 million, 50% co-contribution required
  • Applications open until April 30th, 2025

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $46.3 million in funding for Round 2 of the Community Batteries Funding Program. This program aims to deploy community batteries across Australia to lower energy bills, cut emissions and reduce pressure on the electricity grid.

Key Requirements

  • Each community battery must be between 50 kW and 5 MW in size and connected to the distribution network
  • Community Batteries must be chemical batteries of at least Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 9
  • Involve a deployment of a minimum of 10 Community Batteries
  • Grant Funding requests must range from $5 million to $20 million, with a 50% co-contribution
  • Individual household batteries are not eligible for funding

What is eligible for funding?

Projects should improve the economics of community battery projects, build industry capacity, support the integration of distributed energy resources into Australian energy markets, or demonstrate benefits of community batteries.

For Round 2, Community Batteries are chemical batteries of at least Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 9, in the range of 50 kW to 5000 kW nameplate capacity, connected in the Distribution Network.

Batteries that are co-located or share a connection point will be considered a single Community Battery, with a total size equal to the aggregate nameplate capacities at that point of connection.

What companies are eligible for funding?

To be able to apply for funding, you must:

a. at the time of applying, hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and
b. unless applying for funding for Desktop Studies and Analysis,

  • be an Australian entity incorporated under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) or
  • be a Commonwealth entity prescribed as a government business enterprise by section 5(1) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 or
  • be an Australian State or Territory owned corporation or a subsidiary of an Australian State or Territory owned corporation or
  • be a Government (State or Federal) Statutory Corporation; or
  • be an Australian local government or council or an Australian organisation that is purposed with representing and supporting local governments or councils

Is this grant competitive or entitlement based?

Competitive – Your application will be assessed among other applications by a judging panel.

How can I increase my chances of winning this grant?

By engaging a specialist government grants consultant, such as Avant Group to assist with eligibility checks and collation of relevant documentation.

As part of your engagement with Avant Group, your account manager will assess the required documentation and provide tailored support to strengthen your grant submission.

How can I get help with my application? Or know if I’m likely to win funding?

Avant Group offers a no-obligation assessment of your eligibility for funding and will assess your likelihood of a successful grant application.