For the past 20 years, Palladium has committed 1.5% of our profit before tax to our global giving platform, Let’s Make it Possible. Through this platform and in partnership with the Kyeema Foundation, Palladium funds humanitarian relief efforts, supports community projects nominated by employees, and runs an annual Challenge Fund to tackle a major global problem.

In exciting news, we’re announcing the winners of our 2025 Challenge Fund, an annual initiative designed to surface bold, practical innovations that tackle urgent global challenges. This year’s theme—Rural Energy Revolution: Efficient Energy Storage for Remote Communities—responds to one of the most persistent barriers to inclusive development: reliable access to energy.

Across the globe, remote and off grid communities continue to face daily uncertainty due to unreliable or non existent electricity. Weak grid connections and the intermittent nature of renewable energy make it difficult to power essential services such as healthcare, education, refrigeration, and communications. Without effective energy storage, these challenges deepen social and economic inequalities.

“These projects remind us what’s possible when innovation takes into account local needs,” says Sinéad Magill, CEO of Palladium and Chair of the Kyeema Foundation. “PowerWells and FeX Energy are showing the world that the future of energy doesn’t just need to be clean, it needs to be locally owned, resilient, and accessible to all.”

“At a time when reliable energy remains out of reach for too many, their work signals a new chapter of opportunity for remote communities everywhere.”

The 2025 Challenge Fund winners reflect this ambition, backing two very different but complementary approaches to energy storage, one grounded in circular manufacturing and women’s economic empowerment in the Pacific, the other advancing long duration thermal storage for Indigenous communities in Canada.

PowerWells: Circular Manufacturing and Women Led Energy Access in Vanuatu

Australian social enterprise PowerWells is pioneering a locally led solution that blends clean energy access with waste reduction and economic opportunity.

Its Challenge Fund project focuses on the development of solar battery enclosures made from compression moulded recycled plastic, designed to be manufactured by women in the Women I Tok Tok Tugeta (WITTT) network in Vanuatu.

The project builds on PowerWells’ earlier work in Tanna, where women from the WITTT network deployed and maintained 115 off grid solar systems, many using tools for the first time. The new phase will prototype enclosure designs in Australia before laying the groundwork for future production in Vanuatu, using locally available plastic waste. The enclosures will house PowerWells’ proven solar systems built with repurposed lithium ion batteries sourced from electronic waste.

By reducing reliance on imported components, the initiative lowers costs, strengthens climate resilience, and creates new income opportunities for Ni Vanuatu women—while also addressing plastic pollution in fragile island environments.

FeX Energy: Long Duration Storage to Replace Diesel in Remote Canada

Canadian clean tech company FeX Energy is tackling a different but equally urgent challenge: reducing dependence on diesel in remote and Indigenous communities across Canada. Its Arc S system is a containerised iron based thermochemical energy storage technology capable of storing renewable energy as heat for hours, days, or even entire seasons—with no self discharge.

Designed for harsh off grid environments, Arc S converts low cost electricity into high temperature heat, delivering clean energy on demand for space heating, water heating, industrial processes, and potential power generation. The Challenge Fund will support a 100 kW pilot to be tested at Canada’s national energy laboratory, with the goal of advancing the technology toward commercial deployment in First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities.

Replacing diesel with Arc S has the potential to dramatically cut fuel costs, reduce emissions, improve air quality, and eliminate the risks associated with fuel transport and spills in remote regions.

Innovation That Shifts the Balance

“Today, millions of people still live with the uncertainty of unreliable or unaffordable power,” Magill adds. “What excites me about this year’s winners is that they don’t just bring clever technology—they bring real, practical solutions that empower local people, build long term resilience, and shift the balance of energy access toward equity.”

“This is exactly the kind of impact the Challenge Fund was built to champion.”

Together, the 2025 Challenge Fund winners demonstrate how energy storage, when designed with communities, not just for them, can unlock economic opportunity, strengthen resilience, and accelerate progress toward a more equitable energy future.