RayGen

About

RayGen develops PV Ultra concentrated solar tower systems paired with Thermal Hydro electro‑thermal storage using ORC turbines to deliver long‑duration dispatchable renewable power, operating demonstrations and manufacturing in Victoria.

Mission

RayGen Resources is an Australian climate‑tech company featured in a roundup of 2024 climate and energy funding. The company announced a $51 million Series D financing. The round was led by Breakthrough Victoria and SLB. The funding is intended to bolster RayGen’s manufacturing and engineering capabilities in Victoria. Proceeds will also support the company’s expansion efforts domestically and internationally. The announcement was published as part of Earth Day 2024 coverage of Australian startups raising capital in the climate and sustainability sector. RayGen develops hi‑tech solar and thermal storage systems designed to provide long‑duration dispatchable renewable power. The company recently opened a commercial demonstration plant in Carwarp, north‑western Victoria that generates 4 MW of renewable power backed by 2.8 MW / 50 MWh of storage for about 17 hours. ARENA has announced $10 million in funding to help RayGen improve technology design, reduce material costs and deliver a basic and FEED for a planned utility‑scale 200 MW solar and 115 MW / 1.2 GWh storage deployment in Australia. RayGen has an upcoming $32.7 million project with ARENA intended to lower the cost of dispatchable renewable energy and unlock further opportunities domestically and internationally. ARENA has supported RayGen since 2012, providing a total of $38.4 million across five previous projects as well as this newly announced project. Successful commissioning of the Carwarp site is cited as a significant milestone in the commercialisation pathway toward full utility‑scale deployment. RayGen’s core product is its PV Ultra concentrating photovoltaic co‑generation tower paired with a patented electro‑thermal storage system that uses heat capture, two insulated water‑based thermal reservoirs and an Organic Rankine Cycle turbine to produce dispatchable power. The demonstration plant will feature 4 MW of solar PV and 3 MW / 50 MWh (≈17 hours) of dispatchable storage, with one reservoir held near 90°C and the other near 0°C. RayGen says the modular technology is scalable and aimed at longer‑duration firming identified as a system need by the Australian Energy Market Operator. The $30 million project includes the dispatchable renewable facility in Carwarp, Victoria and a new manufacturing facility to support pipeline growth. Financial backing for the project includes a $15 million ARENA grant and a completed $27 million equity raise from parties including AGL, Schlumberger New Energy, Photon Energy and Chevron Technology Ventures. RayGen has negotiated an offtake agreement with AGL and plans to export to the National Electricity Market while participating in wholesale energy and FCAS markets. RayGen has developed PV Ultra, a tower-mounted concentrated solar PV technology that uses low-cost heliostats and high-efficiency PV cells to co-generate electricity and heat. The company pairs PV Ultra with a Thermal Hydro storage system that stores energy as a temperature difference between two water reservoirs and uses an Organic Rankine Cycle engine to generate electricity, targeting a round-trip efficiency of 70%. Heat from PV Ultra charges the hot reservoir while a chiller helps cool the cold reservoir; the stored temperature difference provides long-duration, recyclable water-based storage. RayGen’s flagship proposal is a 4 MW / 50 MWh solar-plus-storage plant in Carwarp near Mildura capable of ~17 hours of storage, intended to supply synchronous power to the West Murray region. The company is working with partners AGL and GHD on technical and commercial studies and permitting for the preferred site. ARENA has previously funded RayGen with $8.67 million to develop PV Ultra and build a 1 MW pilot that has operated for over two years powering a local mushroom farm. RayGen develops a concentrated solar PV system called PV Ultra that uses a field of wireless mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto high-efficiency PV modules in a tower-mounted receiver. The technology requires approximately 4 square metres of photovoltaic material and 2,500 metres of mirrors per megawatt, versus roughly 5,000 square metres of PV for traditional silicon systems. ARENA has provided $4.8 million in support to advance commercialisation and construct a 0.5 MW demonstration comprising two linked 250 kW fields near Newbridge, Victoria, which will power a local mushroom farm. RayGen operates a manufacturing line in Blackburn, Melbourne, and will upgrade a scalable manufacturing plant to support two initial projects in China with a combined 11 MW capacity. The Newbridge demonstration is intended to generate performance and ""bankable"" data on efficiency, power and energy to encourage further uptake by suppliers, investors and customers. Founded in 2010, RayGen previously set a world record for solar efficiency with UNSW in 2014 and is positioning its capital-light manufacturing model to create local high‑tech jobs while targeting very low cost solar power.

Quick Facts