‘Battery storage enterprise good regardless of provide chain challenges’

The CEO of vitality storage and e-mobility options firm New HOrizons Forward (NHOA) has hailed its “unparalleled” efficiency within the first half of this yr, regardless of business headwinds.

NHOA, previously generally known as ENGIE EPS, was acquired by Taiwan Cement Company (TCC) final yr and its new house owners have overseen the setting of bold efficiency targets for the know-how group.

NHOA is aiming to develop its enterprise tenfold by 2025, with its actions together with system integration and turnkey provide of stationary battery vitality storage techniques (BESS), electrical car (EV) charger infrastructure, quick EV chargers and associated areas like microgrids.

The Italy-headquartered firm final week launched its unaudited monetary outcomes for H1 2022, which confirmed that it had nearly equalled its €15.9 million (US$16.15 million) FY2021 gross sales figures from its vitality storage World Enterprise Line (GBL) for your entire FY2021 inside the first quarter of 2022 (€15.5 million).

FY2021 had represented a doubling of storage revenues from the yr earlier than, and through H1 2022 NHOA reported €73 million vitality storage gross sales.

It has now surpassed the gigawatt-hour determine (1,043MWh) for storage tasks beneath growth together with 292MWh with secured contracts and 751MWh of turnkey provide contract backlog. The corporate did modest enterprise in that regard this yr nonetheless, netting just one 30MWh new contract for a buyer in Peru in Q1 and no massive contracts in Q2.

It grew its pipeline of vitality storage alternatives from €764 million in 2021 to €1,031 million. In the meantime consolidated gross sales throughout all of its enterprise traces leapt from €7.2 million in H1 2021 to €82.2 million for a similar interval this yr.

Whereas it introduced an “unparalleled” efficiency for the corporate to this point, vitality storage represents the technological heritage and the spine of the group ever since its founding 9 years in the past CEO Carlalberto Guglielminotti stated in a convention name to debate outcomes.

Guglielminotti stated that the 30x development in vitality storage revenues from H1 2021 (€2.3 million), was in keeping with expectations of the group given NHOA completed final yr with a robust backlog, however “reveals our capacity to carry out” and meet these expectations.

As has been skilled throughout many industries, provide chain points are a problem. Referring to NHOA’s e-mobility three way partnership (JV) Free2Move options with car OEM Stellantis, the CEO stated that lead instances for supply of some important elements have gone from 12 weeks to fifteen months “in a single day”.

“We had to deal with a detracted provide chain,” Guglielminotti stated. The CEO took over the corporate again in 2014, then generally known as Electro Energy Programs, because it restructured from a earlier chapter, earlier than then being acquired for €108 million by European utility and energy group ENGIE.

‘Every day problem of managing provide chain disruption’

Transport of apparatus and elements from China has been impacted this yr by the nation’s localised COVID-19 lockdowns, whereas different deliveries from international locations within the Black Sea area are being instantly affected by the struggle between Russia and Ukraine, NHOA’s head of vitality storage Giuseppe Artizzu stated.

NHOA has needed to show it may possibly ship gear and supply companies on time whereas managing prices and danger, Artizzu stated, including that its robust income recognition is testomony to the corporate’s capacity to take action. It was “managing each day the impact” of provide chain disruptions, Artizzu stated and NHOA’s price base stays according to its expectations and finances.

He stated that the shortage of massive orders within the final three months was to be anticipated. Turbulence in commodity markets and battery pricing have made it troublesome for NHOA’s shoppers to achieve a closing funding choice (FID).

Late final yr, former guardian firm ENGIE cancelled a solar-plus-storage hybrid undertaking in Hawaii to which NHOA was to produce a 240MWh BESS, citing provide chain situations, in addition to different components like excessive prices of grid interconnection and photo voltaic PV import tariffs.

Nonetheless, the corporate is modestly optimistic that shoppers will begin to make FIDs once more quickly, with some “calming down” of commodity market turbulence noticed previously six to eight weeks.

In the meantime, vitality market dynamics imply that the elemental worth proposition of battery storage and due to this fact demand stays robust, although it’s plain the rising price base for lithium-ion batteries and associated gear has introduced a significant problem.

The business is maturing although, and battery suppliers are coping higher than earlier than with commodity danger, whereas many suppliers of batteries – and different gear – are accepting some long-term publicity to upstream danger with a purpose to put money into new supplies and cut back their publicity to identify market fluctuations in metals costs, in keeping with the manager director for NHOA’s international technique.

Giuseppe Artizzu stated earlier this yr on the Power Storage Summit hosted by our writer Photo voltaic Media that finally he believed vitality storage provide chains would come out stronger from challenges, which partially have come about as a result of demand for battery storage has grown sooner than many anticipated.

Artizzu famous that some vital battery deliveries have been made previously three months, together with to NHOA’s 200MWh undertaking with utility Synergy in Australia, whereas deliveries to a significant 442MWh order for guardian firm TCC’s tasks in Taiwan are anticipated to fall inside This fall this yr.  

The corporate’s CEO didn’t rule out revising its income steering upward within the coming weeks as NHOA points its audited H2 monetary outcomes by the top of this month or the start of August. Carlalberto Guglielminotti stated EBITDA projections may even be provided at the moment, however stated it’s potential its two important enterprise divisions, for vitality storage and its Free2Move JV might break even in EBITDA phrases earlier than the top of this yr.