Rabobank, with its division Rabo Investments, announced that it has acquired a minority interest in GIGA Storage, intending to help the company expand its large-scale energy storage network.
GIGA Storage is a Netherlands-headquartered developer, investor, and operator of large-scale energy storage projects, with a project pipeline of 420 MWh in the Netherlands and Belgium.
The company has operational projects in Lelystad that have a combined capacity of 57 MWh.
The investment amount was not disclosed by the parties.
According to Francis Quint, Global Head of Rabo Investment, the investment will enable GIGA Storage to further expand its network of large-scale energy storage and grow its self-developed IT platform to facilitate the further integration of renewable energy into the Benelux electricity grid.
Ruud Nijs, CEO of GIGA Storage, said, “With Rabobank, we welcome the first formal investor to our shareholders’ table. Until now, we have financed ourselves with various informal investors – all of whom have also additionally contributed to the value of the company – but also with various crowdfunding initiatives.”
Last Month, Rabobank provided a revolving credit facility of $75 million to Primergy Solar, a U.S.-based utility-scale and distributed solar and storage company to help develop a pipeline of solar and storage projects.
According to Mercom’s 9M And Q3 2022 Funding and M&A Report for Storage, Grid & Efficiency, in 9M 2022, Energy Storage companies raised a record $22 billion in corporate funding in 92 deals, up 69% compared to the $13 billion raised in 74 deals in 9M 2021.
Recently, Neoen, an independent renewable energy producer, announced the financial close of its Capital Battery project, a 100 MW/200 MWh lithium-ion battery storage facility located next to the Queanbeyan substation near Canberra, Australia. The battery project will be financed by a combination of equity provided by Neoen and senior debt facilities provided by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Infradebt.
