SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sunverge Energy, a leader in intelligent storage and distributed energy resource management, today announced a $36.5 million Series C round of financing. New investor AGL Energy Ltd., Australia's largest publicly traded energy retailer, joined current investors the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), SBCVC, Siemens Venture Capital and Total Energy Ventures International.

Sunverge designs and manufactures advanced, intelligent energy storage systems that allow utilities to automatically execute demand response programs on an individual customer level or link them into 'Virtual Power Plants' to meet peak energy demand across an entire community or service area. This unprecedented level of coordination, provided via a flexible cloud-based platform, will make possible this transition to power as a service and much more intelligent, automatic and efficient management of distributed energy resources.

AGL has also entered into a commercial agreement with Sunverge whereby AGL is the exclusive channel partner for the sales of Sunverge's intelligent energy storage systems in Australia. And, as part of the investment partnership, AGL Managing Director & CEO Andy Vesey and AGL Executive General Manager of New Energy, Alistair Preston will join the Sunverge Board of Directors.

According to AGL's Managing Director & CEO Andy Vesey, the energy sector both in Australia and globally, is undergoing significant change and AGL aims to lead the way in Australia.

'We were the first major energy retailer to sell residential and commercial batteries in Australia, including the Sunverge brand. Sunverge is also a leader in the management of fleets of batteries for demand response and other applications. Our strategic agreement will allow us early mover advantage and accelerate our capabilities in this space.

'Our partnership will allow us to better meet the needs of our customers in a carbon-constrained energy future which is increasingly based on decentralised products and services including digital metering, solar PV systems, as well as new technologies such as batteries, electric vehicles and other 'beyond the meter' energy solutions,' said Mr. Vesey.

Sunverge recently announced the next generation of its Solar Integration System (SIS), which will be available this summer [see details here]. The new system features more battery options and a streamlined design with even more system intelligence than the original SIS. Sunverge offers the most programming options available with energy storage systems today, maximizing the efficient use of renewable or conventional energy while increasing overall grid reliability.

'We look forward to working AGL and our current investors to accelerate the development of new, innovative energy solutions that will have a significant impact on our customers' businesses and on the reduction in global carbon emissions,' said Sunverge Co-founder and CEO, Ken Munson. 'Our investors, which are some of the biggest names in the energy industry, bring tremendous energy industry expertise and access to new geographic market opportunities.'

About AGL Energy Limited (AGL)
AGL is one of Australia's leading integrated energy companies. It is taking action to responsibly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions while providing secure and affordable energy to its customers. Drawing on over 175 years of experience, AGL serves its customers throughout eastern Australia with meeting their energy requirements, including gas, electricity, solar PV and related products and services. AGL has a diverse power generation portfolio including base, peaking and intermediate generation plants, spread across traditional thermal generation as well as renewable sources including hydro, wind, solar, landfill gas and biomass.

About Sunverge
San Francisco-based Sunverge Energy allows homeowners efficient management of their own renewable energy generation and helps utilities, retailers and solar power providers manage those renewable power sources and aggregate them into Virtual Power Plants across neighborhoods, communities and entire service areas - reliably, effectively and intelligently. Founded in 2009, the company makes the Sunverge Solar Integration System (SIS), a distributed energy storage and management appliance comprised of powerful storage batteries, power electronics, and system-management software running in the cloud. The Sunverge SIS lowers costs, increases energy reliability, strengthens the grid, and accelerates the adoption and integration of distributed renewable energy. Investors include the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), SBCVC, Siemens Venture Capital and Total Energy Ventures International. For more information, please visit www.sunverge.com.