Source: Ara Ake
Ara Ake has approved over $600,000 in funding from the National Flex Discovery Fund for 13 flexibility service providers (FSPs). The Fund is designed to accelerate the commercialisation of emerging energy solutions by providing targeted grants.
“Flexible energy resources, like batteries and electric vehicles, can help the electricity grid during peak demand, reduce the need for new infrastructure, and lower costs for consumers. However, much of New Zealand’s flexibility remains untapped because it is not visible, measurable or accessible,” says Rob Campbell, Ara Ake Board Chair.
“The Fund was set up to address this issue. As it was 160% oversubscribed for the $1 million grant funding pool available, we can see there is clear appetite from New Zealand innovators and industry to deliver flexibility services.”
The Fund is aimed at two areas:
- Helping flexibility providers become discoverable to potential buyers on an open-access flexibility platform.
- Supporting providers already visible on these platforms to grow and enhance capacity or improve reliability.
Allocated funding was split into two tracks: approximately $200,000 for Track 1 and $400,000 for Track 2. Of the 20 applicants, 13 were successful. The projects were selected based on the Fund criteria that emphasised value-for-money and connected the greatest number of new providers to open-access flexibility platforms.
“This will help provide visibility to potential buyers and ensure a diverse supply of flexibility services across Aotearoa with the potential to scale up as the New Zealand flexibility market evolves in the years to come,” says Rob Campbell.
By the end of 2025, the funding will result in multiple new connections across Flexviz, FlexPoint™, Localflex and GrideX flexibility platforms.
“By next winter, the recipients of Track 2 funds will deliver five projects across diverse technologies: hot water controls, home energy management systems, remote, smart and fast EV charging, and commercial and industrial load. This represents significant potential new flexible load made accessible to the electricity system in time to provide support through the colder winter months in 2026,” says Briony Bennett, Senior Energy Innovation Manager, Ara Ake.
The successful recipients are:
1. Supa Energy
2. Octopus Energy
3. Flex-Able
4. PowerHub
5. Gridsmart, Rinnai NZ
6. Ecotricity
7. EWI Energy
8. Daikin New Zealand
10. Lastmyle
11. Cortexo
12. Counties Energy
13. Simply Energy
“We’ve been preparing for a flexible future for a while now, and this funding will help us turn our trials and pilots into a scalable solution. We’re looking forward to supporting the grid as New Zealand’s vehicle fleet continues to electrify,” says Tom Rose, Product Owner, Evnex.
“PowerHub appreciates this grant, which enables us to connect to a flexibility platform,” says Sophia Bristow, Startup Strategist, PowerHub Group. “As a growing small business in the New Zealand market, being part of the Flex Fund cohort is an important step forward for us.”
Find out more about the National Flex Discovery Fund here.
