Two big names in the UK Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) sector have received large financing injections to support the growth of the British Bess market.
The National Wealth Fund (NWF) of the British government has announced that it has made a £ 50 million stock investment in AMP Clean Energy, which will mainly be used to roll out storage activa of the batteries in the United Kingdom.
Financing will be used to support the development of AMP Clean Energy of its battery box sites, which are curriculum units on micro-scale, designed to connect directly to the local distribution network and to be located in the vicinity of demanding sites such as houses, schools and hospitals. Each battery box has a capacity of 200 kW/800kWh and only requires the equivalent area of two parking spaces. AMP Clean Energy currently has more than 1,075 battery box sites in development in the UK.
Mark Tarry, CEO of AMP Clean Energy, said that the support “will accelerate our ability to build the type of energy infrastructure that the VK needs: practical, low-carbon projects that support both local grider flexibility and industrial decarbonization”. He added that the investment will help the company to “go further and faster” to support the nation in his goals for clean energy consumption.
Chancellor of the treasury Rachel Reeves said: “Investing to provide the grid to carbon -poor will help to deliver safe, affordable and renewable energy that is good for growth, companies and jobs. The revolution of the clean energy with local projects such as this is an essential part of our plan for change.”
Pulse lands £ 220 million financing injection
In the meantime, Pulse Clean Energy has announced today (August 4) that it has concluded a £ 220 million Green Finance deal to support the development of six new Bess projects in the UK.
The debt increase was funded by a consortium of six international banks, led by Santander CIB. The banks involved are Santander, Natwest, ABN AMRO, Nord/LB, Investec and CIBC. Eversheds Sutherland advised Pulse Clean Energy as a legal adviser, Watson Farley & Williams served as a legal adviser for the lenders and Chatham Financial acted as a hedging adviser.
The six projects that this financial package will be used to develop, have a collective capacity of more than 700 MWh and will be in the UK with locations in Scotland, Devon, Greater Manchester and Wales.
Four of the now funded projects will convert former diesel generators into BESS-ACTIVA, and part of the financing will also support the current needs of nine BESS locations that are already in operation or in the later stages of construction. All assets that are financed by this deal will be operational at the end of 2027.
Pulse Clean Energy was previously supported by the NWF, where the NWF is part of a financing consortium that invests in Pulse in May 2023. However, Pulse states that the maturation of the Bess market and the growing interest of international investors has enabled the NWF to “step” from investing in Puls.
Nicola Johnson, Chief Financial Officer of Pulse Clean Energy, said that the historic investment “reflects strong worldwide trust in the growing British battery storage market and in the ability of Pulse Clean Energy to deliver on a scale”.
She added: “These six facilities will not only strengthen the resilience of the schedule, but also unlock considerable cost savings for consumers by allowing more renewable power on the grid and reducing the need for expensive backup power during peak periods.”
