GLIL Infrastructure Fund and ion Ventures have set up a new joint venture, Flexion Energy Holdings UK Ltd, to develop 300MW of grid-scale battery projects in the UK within two years. They aim to grow the new company’s portfolio to 1GW within five years.
GLIL Infrastructure has invested £150 million in Flexion Energy. GLIL is an infrastructure investment fund with £2.5bn funds under management, backed by Local Pensions Partnership and Northern LGPS. GLIL will acquire an initial interest in Flexion of 95%.
ion Ventures will transfer its existing portfolio of UK grid scale energy storage projects into Flexion and will initially have a 5% interest in Flexion, which may rise to 7.5%. It has been engaged by Flexion to provide ongoing development, operational and asset management services. ion Ventures’ Co-Founders, Hassen Bali and Dan Taylor claim the first Tesla grid-scale storage system in Europe and the development of more than 200 MW of energy storage assets to date.
The new company aims to “bridge the gap between the development and financing of energy storage sites”.
The deal is the eleventh investment by GLIL, the £2.5bn infrastructure fund backed by Local Pensions Partnership and Northern LGPS, which was appointed as an infrastructure investment partner for government’s workplace pension provider Nest.
Its investments to date include equity stakes in the Clyde windfarm, biomass and anaerobic digestion energy generation. In April, it acquired UK energy infrastructure provider Smart Meter Assets 1 Ltd.
Taylor and Bali, said: “The technical capabilities of our team will ensure that we stay ahead of future market shifts and that our approach remains resilient and differentiated. Flexion is technology agnostic and will take advantage of the continuing evolution of battery technology and innovation in the broader energy storage space.
“Public markets are already playing a big role in funding energy storage infrastructure, but the sector remains underserved and Flexion is seeking to address this. We welcome this investment from GLIL Infrastructure and look forward to achieving our clear long-term growth objectives that deploy cash generative assets.”
Jonathan Ord, Investment Director at GLIL Infrastructure, added: “Energy specialists like Flexion have a critical role to play in the country’s future infrastructure objectives. Our backing of the company ties in with our extensive plans to assist in the UK’s recovery and help to build a sustainable economy for the future through infrastructure investment. We look forward to working with Dan, Hassen and the team, and to providing stable, inflation-linked returns for our members.”
Mark Hood, chief executive of south east Asian energy company Coro Energy plc, which has a 20% stake in ion Ventures, said:” We are excited in particular by ion Ventures’ potential for further growth in South East Asia, in relation to which we retain a right of first refusal to invest in ion’s South East Asian projects.”