Energy Vault Secures Final FIRB Approval and Completes Acquisition of 125 MW / 1,000 MWh Stoney Creek Battery Energy Storage System in Australia
Energy Vault Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NRGV) (“Energy Vault”), a leading global provider of grid-scale energy storage solutions, has achieved a significant milestone in its international expansion strategy. The company today confirmed that it has secured final approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and completed the full acquisition of the Stoney Creek Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project in Northern New South Wales.
The 125 megawatt (MW) / 1,000 megawatt-hour (MWh) long-duration storage facility will now officially join Energy Vault’s international “Own & Operate” portfolio. This move not only marks the company’s first fully owned project in Australia but also strengthens its long-term asset management and operational footprint in a market that is rapidly transitioning toward clean, reliable, and flexible energy systems.
From Initial Agreement to Full Control
The path to ownership of the Stoney Creek BESS began in March 2025, when Energy Vault announced its agreement to acquire the project from Enervest Group, a renewable energy developer active across Australia. While the initial announcement signaled the company’s intent, the transaction required FIRB approval due to Australia’s foreign investment regulations for strategic infrastructure assets.
Now, with FIRB consent granted, Energy Vault holds complete ownership and operational control of the project. This enables the company to fully oversee all aspects of the facility’s development—from final engineering and construction to long-term operation and maintenance—while ensuring integration with its proprietary software and storage technologies.
A Strategic Move for Australia’s Energy Future
Energy Vault’s acquisition aligns closely with Australia’s urgent need for large-scale energy storage solutions. The country’s electricity grid is undergoing a profound transformation as coal-fired generation is retired and replaced with a mix of solar, wind, and other renewable energy resources.
However, renewable generation alone cannot meet the grid’s reliability requirements. The variability of wind and solar production means that long-duration energy storage is essential for smoothing supply, providing peak-time dispatch, and ensuring energy security.
The Stoney Creek BESS, with its eight-hour storage capability, directly addresses this challenge. By storing excess renewable generation during periods of low demand and discharging during peak consumption, the facility will play a critical role in balancing the New South Wales grid and facilitating deeper renewable energy penetration.
LTESA Contract Secures Long-Term Revenue
A key feature of the Stoney Creek project is its award of a 14-year Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA), granted under Roadmap Tender Round 5 for Long Duration Storage. This tender process is administered by AEMO Services, acting as the Consumer Trustee under the New South Wales Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.
The LTESA provides a guaranteed and predictable revenue stream for up to 14 years. Such contracted income reduces project risk, improves bankability, and supports investor confidence—particularly important for long-duration storage assets, which require significant upfront capital investment.
With this contract in place, the project enjoys both financial stability and the operational flexibility to participate in Australia’s wholesale electricity and ancillary services markets, creating opportunities for additional merchant revenue through Energy Vault’s trading optimization systems.
Technological Integration and Performance Optimization
The Stoney Creek BESS will deploy Energy Vault’s B-VAULT™ battery energy storage system in combination with the company’s VaultOS™ energy management platform. This integration will allow real-time monitoring, control, and market optimization of the asset.
VaultOS™ provides advanced analytics, predictive maintenance capabilities, and automated bidding strategies through the Vault-Bidder™ module, enabling the facility to respond rapidly to market price signals and grid needs. This technology-driven approach ensures maximum asset utilization, enhances lifespan, and supports consistent revenue generation.
By controlling the project lifecycle—from system design to operational optimization—Energy Vault is in a position to extract maximum technical and economic value from the Stoney Creek BESS while delivering critical services such as:
- Frequency control and ancillary services
- Capacity firming for renewable projects
- Load shifting to meet evening peak demand
- Black start capability for grid restoration
A First for Energy Vault’s Global ‘Own & Operate’ Strategy Outside the U.S.
While Energy Vault has a growing portfolio of “Own & Operate” storage assets in the United States, the Stoney Creek project represents the company’s first non-U.S. deployment under this model. This strategy focuses on building and holding long-lived infrastructure assets to generate recurring revenue, in contrast to a purely equipment-supply business model.
Robert Piconi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Energy Vault, emphasized the importance of this milestone:
“The formal acquisition of Stoney Creek represents a first and very significant milestone in Energy Vault’s long-term investment strategy for Australia. As the first non-US project developed under our global ‘Own & Operate’ asset strategy, Stoney Creek underscores our focus on attractive, high-growth markets for energy storage solutions supported by favorable regulatory policies as is the case with Australia. We have multiple storage projects in various stages of construction across eastern Australia, and we look forward now to focusing on moving the Stoney Creek BESS rapidly to RTB construction and eventual operation in order to maximize the benefits for the local communities while supporting the NSW regional decarbonization goals.”
Supporting New South Wales’ Decarbonization and Reliability Goals
The New South Wales Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap targets a rapid build-out of renewable generation and long-duration storage to replace aging coal-fired power plants. Projects like Stoney Creek are integral to achieving these objectives, particularly in the state’s northern region, which is experiencing strong growth in renewable generation capacity.
By providing eight hours of dispatchable storage, Stoney Creek will help meet NSW’s firming capacity requirements, ensuring that renewable generation is not wasted and that electricity supply remains reliable even during periods of low wind or solar output.
In addition, the project is expected to bring local economic benefits through construction jobs, ongoing operations employment, and regional investment in infrastructure. Energy Vault has indicated that community engagement will be a priority as the project moves toward the ready-to-build (RTB) stage and ultimately to commercial operation.
A Broader Australian Portfolio in Development
Stoney Creek is just one part of Energy Vault’s broader Australian pipeline. The company has multiple large-scale storage projects in various stages of development and construction across eastern Australia. These projects are expected to serve a range of market segments, from contracted grid-support services to merchant energy trading opportunities.
By combining its hardware solutions with advanced software and market optimization tools, Energy Vault aims to deliver projects that are financially sustainable while meeting the operational needs of an evolving grid. The integration of the company’s proprietary technology stack—including VaultOS™, B-VAULT™, and Vault-Bidder™—provides a competitive edge in extracting value from both contracted and merchant market participation.
