Renewable energy project underwriter GCube Insurance has launched a new consortium of six Lloyd’s syndicates to provide insurance capacity to battery energy storage system owners.

Up to $US100 million of "A-rated" insurance capacity is available worldwide for any single project from the new consortium. It will be accessible to brokers from all GCube offices, including in Australia where the underwriter has an office in parent company Tokio Marine’s premises in Sydney.

GCube says it was created to meet increasing demand from brokers and the battery market as the industry scales up.

“These projects are now growing in size and value and we are pleased to be in a position to provide additional coverage, as well as to guide the development of sustainable terms and conditions based on our extensive experience in the market,” GCube founder and CEO Fraser McLachlan said. 

Large assets with battery capacity of over 100MW are coming online, with durations of up to four hours, and GCube says project values and financial risks have increased proportionally. The fast pace of change has left "a shortage of long-term data to inform risk management strategies and build the confidence of underwriters in this new and emerging technology”.  

GCube is “positioning itself to take a lead position in setting sustainable terms and pricing”. 

“More and more capacity is required but the complexity of mitigating losses with evolving technology also requires this capacity to be well-versed in handling claims and selecting risks. This is the basis for GCube expanding its presence in the sector,” Mr McLachlan said.