Apricum Secures New Investor for Convergent Energy and Power Enabling the Financing of 12 MW Portfolio of New Energy Storage Assets in Canada
Apricum – The Cleantech Advisory, acting for its client Convergent Energy and Power LP, successfully brings in Swiss investor SUSI Partners to a 12 MW portfolio of energy storage projects from Convergent, breaking new ground for project financing in this sector. The projects, which consist of a 5 MW flywheel and a 7 MW lithium-ion battery, were awarded in 2014 by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) in Ontario, Canada and will deliver frequency regulation and reactive support and voltage control services to the grid. Through its extensive global network, Apricum brought in SUSI Partners’ newly formed Energy Storage Fund alongside existing investor CJF Capital, enabling a non-recourse, third-party project financing structure, which represents a departure from the standard balance sheet financing normally used in this sector.
“We are very pleased to have introduced SUSI Partners to Convergent as an additional credible partner alongside CJF Capital. We’re bringing about a partnership of two leaders in their fields from different geographies with a shared vision for developing this sector,” said Florian Mayr, partner at Apricum. “We are proud of our partnership on these projects with CJF Capital and SUSI Partners,” said Frank Genova, Convergent’s chief operating and financial officer. “The financing of these projects in Ontario is an important step in the development of the sector and a major milestone for Convergent, which has now successfully organized third-party, non-recourse project financing for several individual storage projects throughout North America.”
Asif Rafique, managing director for energy storage at SUSI Partners, commented “The investment represents an important milestone for SUSI Partners in terms of geography and sector. Energy storage is an integral part of the worldwide transition to clean energy and has become an investable asset class with attractive risk-adjusted returns for institutional investors.” The investment of SUSI Energy Storage Fund in Convergent Energy and Power is another successful deal in the energy storage space introduced by Apricum. It underscores the growing interest from investors in energy storage project funding and demonstrates Apricum’s understanding of the sector and investors’ needs.
