Administrators look for answers, and buyers, as Australian home battery outfit fights to survive

Australian battery and smart inverter company Redback Technologies is in voluntary administration and fighting for survival, just days after showcasing a new battery system at the Smart Energy Conference in Sydney.

Administrators said on Monday they would work with Redback Operations employees, customers and suppliers to continue to trade the business while working to find a way forward in the longer-term.

To this end, McGrathNicol partners Anthony Connelly, Mark Holland and Jamie Harris say they are seeking expressions of interest for the Brisbane-based company’s sale or recapitalisation.

An investigation in to what, exactly, has landed Redback in administration will also be undertaken.

Founded in 2015, Redback has been an active player in Australia’s renewable energy industry, including just last week at the Smart Energy Conference in Sydney, where it had a stand promoting its new Hybrid Battery System.

The new product, first unveiled at last years All Energy Australia conference in Melbourne, was due to be launched in the second half of this year, with shipments due to arrive in Australia in June.

Less than six months ago, Redback announced it had cut prices across its range of batteries, offering discounts of between $500 and $1000 on retail costs.

Redback’s head of partnerships and training Aaron Moreton said at the time that discounts were being made “in the hopes that the lower costs make sustainable power solutions more accessible to homeowners.”

Some of the company’s home batteries were also embroiled in an ACCC safety recall – which is still active – of some models of LG batteries believed to pose a fire risk.

As Redback explains here, the majority of its energy storage systems use Pylontech batteries, but a small number of LG batteries were used in early model (installed prior to 2020) Redback Smart Hybrids (SH4600/SH5000).

A first meeting of the creditors of the company is scheduled for March 15. Enquiries about the sale process should be directed to redback@mcgrathnicol.com.