August 1, 2025: Renewable energy fund manager Octopus Australia has announced a billion-dollar plus partnership with Dutch pension investor APG to expand utility-scale BESS, solar and wind projects.

Octopus said on July 29 APG intends to commit over A$1 billion ($650 million) to Octopus’ renewable energy platform, OASIS. APG has assets under management exceeding A$1 trillion.

APG joins existing investors in OASIS including large Australian superannuation funds, Rest and Hostplus, international pension funds, the Australian Federal Government via the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, as well as private banks and wealth managers.

Completion of the proposed investment remains subject to the approval of Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board and other regulatory authorities.

Last May, Octopus announced it had received grid connection approval to develop its Blind Creek Solar Farm and Battery near Canberra. The A$850 million project is a co-located 300 MW solar farm with 243 MW/486 MWh of battery storage.

Octopus’ partnership with APG is the latest in a series of moves to accelerate investments in Australia’s battery storage and renewables sector.

Last March, Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners said it was working with China’s CATL on an eight-hour capacity BESS, with the intention of deploying a combined total of more than 3GW of BESS sites across Australia.

In June, Batteries International reported that the Australian Energy Market Operator was calling for investment in batteries with a six-hour energy storage capacity and a major expansion of wind and solar in Western Australia.