From: Mercom Capital Group

Repsol Renovables, a Spanish energy, and petrochemical company has approved the sale of 25% of its stake in the renewables business to a consortium formed by the French insurance company Credit Agricole Assurances and Switzerland -based Energy Infrastructure Partner (EIP) for €905 million (~$949 million). This transaction values Repsol’s renewable business at €4.4 billion (~$4.6 billion), including debt and minority holdings. The acquisition includes an investment commitment from the new partners, which the company says will support its goal of reaching 6 GW of installed capacity by 2025, bolstered by plans to enter new markets and add additional technologies such as offshore wind.

Agilitas Energy, a developer, builder, owner, and operator of distributed energy storage and solar PV systems, raised $350 million in equity funding from funds managed by CarVal Investors. The investment accelerates the company’s development, construction, and operation of more than 500 MW of distributed and utility-scale energy storage and solar PV projects. The funding may be upsized to $650 million depending on the completion of specific projects. The interest from investors in the battery storage sector is at an all-time high, with almost $19.5 billion raised last year and $12.9 billion raised in the previous quarter, according to Mercom’s recent funding and M&A report on Battery Storage, Smart Grid, and Efficiency.

Azure Power Global, an independent sustainable energy solutions provider and renewable power producer in India, entered into an agreement to invest ₹1,000 million (~$12.9 million) in the Premier Group, of which an investment of ₹455 million (~$5.9 million) has been made for the subscription of equity shares & compulsorily convertible debentures issued by Premier Energies Investment Private Limited (PEIPL), towards subscription of 26% shareholding in PEIPL. The balance of ₹545 million (~$7 million) will be made in the form of a subscription to optionally convertible debentures issued by Premier Energy Limited (PEL). PEIPL is setting up a 1 GW cell and module manufacturing facility in India as part of its expansion plans.

Svea Solar, an integrated solar solutions & service provider in Sweden, secured a €100 million (~$106.8 million) investment from CarVal Investors. The investment will fund the expansion of Swedish utility-scale solar projects. This strategic, long-term partnership between CarVal Investors and Svea Solar’s subsidiary Svea Solar Utility provides capital to expand the utility-scale solar park business. The investment on behalf of funds managed by CarVal will support Svea Solar to develop 500 MW of solar projects, adding a substantial amount of clean energy to Europe’s energy mix.

India-based rooftop solar startup SolarSquare raised $4 million in a seed funding round led by Good Capital with participation from U.S.-based Lowercarbon Capital, Singapore-based Symphony Asia, and Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath’s Rainmatter. The round also saw participation from Better Capital, Climate Angels, and angel investors OYO’s Global Chief Strategy Officer Maninder Gulati, Urban Ladder’s Chief Executive Officer Ashish Goel, Amit Kumar Agarwal, Akhil Gupta, and Saurabh Garg, founders of NoBroker. The company intends to use the fresh capital to expand its presence across India and build scaling technology.

UK-based Mitie Group, an outsourcing and energy services company, has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of Custom Solar, a solar power solutions company specializing in the development, design, installation, and maintenance of solar projects for residential and industrial consumers. The acquisition strengthens Mitie’s end-to-end green energy solutions. The staff and senior management team of Custom Solar, including Managing Director, Matthew Brailsford, will join Mitie. The transaction consideration comprises an initial payment of £8 million (~$10 million), with deferred payments of up to £4.4 million (~$5.5 million) by the end of FY25, linked to performance targets.

OhmConnect, a provider of residential energy solutions, raised $55 million in a Series D funding round led by ClearSky, Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP), and TELUS Ventures. Other investors in the funding round include Carrier and SunPower. In March 2022, Carrier and SunPower entered a strategic partnership with OhmConnect. The funding helps the company expand its business reach into new markets and support flexible electric load across the U.S. The company also aims to use the investment to integrate with new technology and appliance companies. The funding round includes investment support from SIP, which previously led OhmConnect’s Series C round. Other repeat investors include City Light Capital, Floodgate, Citi Impact Fund, Elemental Excelerator, and Radicle Impact. Barclays acted as the sole placement agent to OhmConnect on the capital raise.

Ion Storage Systems, a developer of solid-state battery technology, has raised $30 million in a Series A funding round. The investments came from Toyota Ventures, Tenaska, Bangchak Corporation, GAINTECH Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, Z2Sixty Ventures, Climate Capital, and the University of Maryland Discovery Fund. The company plans to use the funds to expand its Beltsville facility in Maryland and qualify a battery cell manufacturing line capable of producing 10 MWh/year of next-generation solid-state batteries.

Vortex Energy, a renewables-focused investment vehicle in Europe managed by the private equity arm of EFG Hermes, has invested €222 million (~$237.2 million) equity capital in Ignis, an integrated renewable energy company. Vortex Energy’s initial investment was made in Q4 2021. Ignis has been expanding its growth with more than 1 GW of ready-to-build Spanish portfolio. The company plans to start site preparations and have an initial planned capacity of 500 MW. Ignis’ management has actively negotiated more than 500 MW of bilateral power purchase agreements with blue-chip and other off-takers.

Denmark-based Orsted, which develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind projects, has secured €1,350 million (~$1,445.7 million) through the issuance of green senior bonds to finance its global build-out of renewable energy and green growth ambition of reaching approximately 50 GW of installed capacity by 2030. Orsted has completed the pricing of new unsecured green senior bonds of a nominal €1,350 million (~$1,445.7 million) in total, comprising a €600 million (~$642.5 million) fixed-rate tranche with maturity in 2028 and a €750 million (~$749.6 million) fixed-rate tranche with maturity in 2033. All bonds are issued as green bonds under Orsted’s green finance framework.

For reports and trackers on funding and M&A transactions in solar, energy storage, smart grid, and efficiency sectors, click here.

Read last week’s funding roundup.