OptiGrid, an Australian battery optimisation and trading intelligence platform built for the National Electricity Market (NEM), has announced a new partnership agreement today with Acacia Energy, a specialist energy solutions provider.
The collaboration will accelerate the rollout of batteries for Acacia Energy’s commercial and industrial (C&I) customers and small-scale renewable energy developers and support their participation in the NEM.
Under this partnership, Acacia Energy will resell OptiGrid’s OptiBidder platform, which has AI-powered forecasting and optimisation algorithms that optimise the operations of batteries to maximise the revenue for Acacia Energy’s C&I and grid-connected battery customers in the NEM.
This partnership demonstrates how OptiGrid and Acacia Energy can collaborate to deliver sophisticated optimisation and bidding services for C&I and grid-connected batteries on the NEM in the same manner that has historically only been available to large-scale renewable energy developers.
Sahand Karimi, CEO of OptiGrid said: “Our partnership with Acacia Energy is a step forward in demonstrating how we’re making battery optimisation and trading intelligence more accessible to asset owners, developers and operators.
“Australia’s distribution networks are full of battery development potential.
“With greater value capture and smarter optimisation, the C&I and sub-5 MW segments stand out as a major opportunity.”
“Working with Acacia Energy means we can support distributed battery developers and commercial customers to provide them with the insight and performance they need to invest confidently in batteries and accelerate Australia’s clean energy transition.”
The deal aligns with surging demand in Australia’s C&I battery sector, where 87.5 per cent of surveyed installers reported increased customer interest over the past year, driven by needs for tariff arbitrage and peak demand savings.
NEM-specific optimisers like OptiGrid’s have proven superior during volatility, capturing more revenue in events like the October 2025 NSW price spike, exceeding $30,000/MWh.
Grid-scale batteries now total about 2 GW in the NEM, with forecasts for 12.8 GW by 2050 amid new rules easing market entry for storage and hybrids.
Stephen Thomson, CEO of Acacia Energy, said: “Commercial businesses and small-scale renewables developers need certainty that their investment in batteries will deliver financial returns.
“OptiGrid maximises that value to our customers by being the best forecasting and optimisation platform that is built for the NEM.
“Some of the largest energy users in Australia, such as cold storage, agriculture and manufacturing customers, are under significant pressure to reduce their operating costs in the face of high power prices.
“By investing in batteries and rooftop solar, they can use energy stored for their day-to-day operations and trade any excess energy with the wholesale market.”
OptiGrid has a rapidly growing portfolio with more than 70 MW of battery and hybrid projects added in the past six months.
Based in South Australia, OptiGrid’s investors include the IP Group, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, HostPlus, UNSW, University of Adelaide and Energy Lab.
This partnership is poised to expand distributed storage adoption, supporting Australia’s renewable transition as C&I rooftops offer potential for 28 GW more solar capacity.
