St Baker to invest $10m in battery plant in the Philippines

Queensland billionaire Trevor St Baker is investing $10m in a battery manufacturing plant in the Philippines to provide storage back-up for homes and businesses going off grid.

Queensland energy billionaire Trevor St Baker will build a $10m lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in the Philippines to provide storage back-up for the millions of homes and businesses going off the grid globally.

The St Baker Energy Innovation Fund is leading investment in the battery storage plant to be built in the free-trade zone of the Filinvest Innovation Park, New Clark City.

Mr St Baker said the factory would begin commercial production in the first quarter of next year with the capacity to produce up to 1.2 gigawatt hours by 2030. One gigawatt is enough to power a medium-sized city.

“The giga-factory is positioned to capture the once-in-a-century transition towards a renewable energy electricity system in which lithium-ion batteries are expected to play a pivotal role,” Mr St Baker said. The investment in the Philippines comes as Mr St Baker, who initially made his fortune in energy retailing, has also announced his Evie Networks electric vehicle charging firm will open a headquarters in the US.

Mr St Baker earlier this year said he was opening a second venture capital fund targeting an ambitious $200m goal, which he plans to achieve by the end of this year.

The Philippines factory will target export markets across Asia, Australia, India and the United States. Mr St Baker said lithium battery production would reduce greenhouse emissions, improve fuel independence, improve electricity reliability and reduce grid reliance for electric vehicle charging at peak demand times.

“There will be major electricity cost savings for households and businesses as well as transport users generally,” he said. “The battery packs will provide energy storage back-up for solar systems in millions of homes and larger premises, including sporting and entertainment venues and retail premises.”

Energy billionaire Trevor St Baker.

Mr St Baker said the factory would boost production further as global battery energy storage ballooned to convert “weather-dependent renewable solar energy energy into 24/7 dispatchable electricity supply”. The batteries would also support electric vehicle fast-charging stations.

“The facility will replicate proven operating battery manufacturing plants and produce established high-quality battery products already meeting market demand,” he said.

Last week, Mr St Baker said Evie Networks would establish a US headquarters in Phoenix amid growing sales of EVs across the country. The move comes with the Biden administration pledging $US30bn ($US43.6bn) for the electrification of the country’s transportation network over the next three or four years.

Evie chief executive Chris Mills said the company expected to have its first US sites up and running within 18 months. The North American market, while highly competitive, is seen as a major growth opportunity where electric vehicle take-up is 5-6 per cent relatively – low compared with the 7 per cent to 8 per cent in Australia.

Mr St Baker, who was ranked at 211 on The Australian’s Richest 250 list this year, established the St Baker Energy Innovation Fund in 2015 to invest in promising “new starts” including Nasdaq-listed EV charging manufacturer Tritium.

“There are many new starts with a fantastic vision or technology, but the difference between failure and success, time after time, is not the idea, but the business experience and support to help them grow,” Mr St Baker said.

Over the past decade, the St Baker Energy Innovation Fund has invested more than $300m in early-stage ventures, often joining the boards or contributing staff to businesses to support their growth.

Originally published as St Baker to invest $10m in battery plant in the Philippines