Today, PowerField announced the capital raise of circa €500 million in structured equity and portfolio financing, enabling PowerField to add significant scale and realise its sustainability ambitions. PowerField will use the funds to continue building an integrated platform where solar parks, EV charging stations and batteries work together in a complementary manner to contribute to a more sustainable and habitable world.
Combination of solar energy, charging solutions, and energy storage
PowerField has almost 300 MWp of operational and ready-to-build solar projects in the Netherlands. Where possible, PowerField will install co-located batteries to ensure optimal use of the grid capacity in congested areas. This solution allows the excess energy produced by a solar park to be stored in a battery to address the capacity challenges of the Dutch electricity grid. In addition to the solar and battery business, PowerField is a strong emerging player in the EV (fast) charging industry through its subsidiary PowerGo, with over 650 charging stations operational and a portfolio of strong contracts and leads in the Netherlands and throughout Europe.
Jean-Louis Bertholet, CEO of PowerField, said: “Our goal is to build the largest virtual power plant in Europe where we will combine solar power, battery storage and EV charging assets. We are delighted to welcome both EIG and LBBW on this journey and are pleased to have found two partners that support our ambitions and share our strong commitment to the renewable energy transition.”
Walid Mouawad, Managing Director and Head of European Power & Renewables at EIG said: “PowerField is a leader in the energy transition sector and our partnership will support the Netherlands’ climate change commitments with a unique combination of zero carbon electricity, storage and EV charging infrastructure. We are thrilled to help realise the company’s growth potential, taking the necessary steps towards a clean energy future.”
The non-recourse structure, provided by LBBW as Sole Lead Arranger and Facility Agent, consists of a common terms’ agreement designed to finance 500 MWp of solar parks within the next few years. On January 30th, 2023, financial close has taken place for the first 120 MWp. In addition, there is an accordion facility with pre-agreed terms for future solar projects.
Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Bank acted as the financial advisor to PowerField in securing the financing. Michiel Klomp and Bas Verloop, both Directors at Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Banking, add: “We are proud to have played a significant role in accelerating the realisation of PowerField’s sustainability ambitions, while simultaneously raising both debt and equity for the company’s fast-growing and sustainable operations. Sustainability is deeply embedded in our organization, and we continue to facilitate the capital flows necessary to drive the energy transition.”
In addition, PowerField was advised by DLA Piper (legal advisor), Spee & Bijl (legal advisor), Olenz (notary), Deloitte (financial and tax support), Intech Risk Management (insurance), and DNV-GL (commercial and technical support).
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