News | 1 February 2023
PowerField sees rapid growth for sustainable and innovative energy solutions by raising circa €500 million
Van Lanschot Kempen is pleased to announce it acted as Sole Financial Advisor to PowerField Netherlands B.V. in raising debt and equity financing.
Today, PowerField and Van Lanschot Kempen announce 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 solar park Stadskanaal, designed in a bird-friendly way in collaboration with the Dutch Kenniscentrum Akkervogels.
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. PowerField has built a robust and actionable pipeline across its three verticals consisting of 2 Gigawatt in solar projects, 15,000 EV charging stations and over 400 MWh in battery storage projects. The majority of its assets are located in the Netherlands, though the company is expanding into multiple European countries.
PowerField is a leading solar park developer that is expanding towards becoming an independent power producer. The company has almost 300 MWp of operational and ready-to-build solar projects in the Netherlands and 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 very 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’re 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 plants within the next few years. On 30 January 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.
Michiel Klomp and Bas Verloop, Directors at Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Bank leading the transaction, added: ‘We’re proud that we’ve been able to play an important role to help PowerField in accelerating its sustainability ambitions by simultaneously raising debt and equity for their rapidly growing and sustainable business. Sustainability is deeply rooted in our organisation and we will continue to facilitate the capital flows required to support the energy transition.’
Other advisers involved in the transaction include DLA-Piper (company and borrower legal counsel), Spee & Bijl (company legal counsel), Clifford Chance (lender legal counsel), White & Case (investor legal counsel), NautaDutilh (investor legal counsel), Olenz (notary), Deloitte (company financial and tax adviser), KPMG (investor tax adviser), Intech Risk Management (insurance adviser), DNV (company commercial and technical adviser), Aurora Energy Research (investor commercial adviser), Arup (investor commercial and technical adviser) and TAUW (investor ESG adviser).
About EIG
EIG is a leading institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors with $22.7 billion under management as of December 31, 2022. EIG specializes in private investments in energy and energy-related infrastructure on a global basis. During its 41-year history, EIG has committed over $44.6 billion to the energy sector through 396 projects or companies in 42 countries on six continents.
About Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW)
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) is both a Mittelstands-minded universal bank and the central bank of the savings banks in Baden-Württemberg, Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate. With total assets of EUR 282 billion and around 10,000 employees (as of 31 Dec. 2021), LBBW is one of the largest banks in Germany. In addition to corporate and private banking focus is placed on real-estate and project financing as well as the customer-oriented capital market business with banks, savings banks and institutional investors. Approx. half of LBBW’s significant project finance portfolio consists of renewable energy projects. LBBW has around 100 national and 17 international offices in 16 countries worldwide.
About Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Bank
As a pan-European investment bank with very strong sector knowledge, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Bank makes the best partner for independent advice on capital raises, mergers & acquisitions, equities, research and trading. The investment bank focuses on European corporates with access to investors around the world. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Bank has deep knowledge of underlying industries, companies in each sector, and all relevant networks on both the corporate as well as the investor side.
More information
Van Lanschot Kempen Media Relations: Daan Joosen, +31 6 13 70 28 47; d.joosen@vanlanschotkempen.com
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. PowerField has built a robust and actionable pipeline across its three verticals consisting of 2 Gigawatt in solar projects, 15,000 EV charging stations and over 400 MWh in battery storage projects. The majority of its assets are located in the Netherlands, though the company is expanding into multiple European countries.
PowerField is a leading solar park developer that is expanding towards becoming an independent power producer. The company has almost 300 MWp of operational and ready-to-build solar projects in the Netherlands and 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 very 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’re 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 plants within the next few years. On 30 January 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.
Michiel Klomp and Bas Verloop, Directors at Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Bank leading the transaction, added: ‘We’re proud that we’ve been able to play an important role to help PowerField in accelerating its sustainability ambitions by simultaneously raising debt and equity for their rapidly growing and sustainable business. Sustainability is deeply rooted in our organisation and we will continue to facilitate the capital flows required to support the energy transition.’
Other advisers involved in the transaction include DLA-Piper (company and borrower legal counsel), Spee & Bijl (company legal counsel), Clifford Chance (lender legal counsel), White & Case (investor legal counsel), NautaDutilh (investor legal counsel), Olenz (notary), Deloitte (company financial and tax adviser), KPMG (investor tax adviser), Intech Risk Management (insurance adviser), DNV (company commercial and technical adviser), Aurora Energy Research (investor commercial adviser), Arup (investor commercial and technical adviser) and TAUW (investor ESG adviser).
About EIG
EIG is a leading institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors with $22.7 billion under management as of December 31, 2022. EIG specializes in private investments in energy and energy-related infrastructure on a global basis. During its 41-year history, EIG has committed over $44.6 billion to the energy sector through 396 projects or companies in 42 countries on six continents.
About Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW)
Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) is both a Mittelstands-minded universal bank and the central bank of the savings banks in Baden-Württemberg, Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate. With total assets of EUR 282 billion and around 10,000 employees (as of 31 Dec. 2021), LBBW is one of the largest banks in Germany. In addition to corporate and private banking focus is placed on real-estate and project financing as well as the customer-oriented capital market business with banks, savings banks and institutional investors. Approx. half of LBBW’s significant project finance portfolio consists of renewable energy projects. LBBW has around 100 national and 17 international offices in 16 countries worldwide.
About Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Bank
As a pan-European investment bank with very strong sector knowledge, Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Bank makes the best partner for independent advice on capital raises, mergers & acquisitions, equities, research and trading. The investment bank focuses on European corporates with access to investors around the world. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Bank has deep knowledge of underlying industries, companies in each sector, and all relevant networks on both the corporate as well as the investor side.
More information
Van Lanschot Kempen Media Relations: Daan Joosen, +31 6 13 70 28 47; d.joosen@vanlanschotkempen.com