Market environment

The energy industry is undergoing a transformation to replace greenhouse gas intensive business models with future-oriented alternatives. One component of this development is decentralised energy supply. Combined heat and power plants (CHP) will play an essential role here, as they can supply both electricity and heat and increase energy efficiency. In addition, much of the capacity to be financed here is based on biomethane, which is logistically more readily available than natural gas due to the current political situation.

Currently, the innovative segment of energy contracting is considered an attractive sub-sector with an estimated annual volume of €7 to €10 billion. Energy cost advantages, environmental and climate protection, and regulatory motives will drive future growth rates. The potential for CHP plants in this transitional phase of the energy revolution is therefore significant and is also supported by German subsidies.

Company

With its solutions, the company supplies over 6,000 residential units with energy and/or heat. In 2020 alone, the company was able to supply 16 MWh of energy and 36 MWh of heat via CHP. The company pursues an energy/heating-as-a-service model in which the customer pays exclusively for electricity and heat through long-term purchase agreements, while the company bears the capex. In a resource-intensive sector, the company's CHP solution stands out as a sustainable alternative to conventional technologies. According to the company, the modularised approach also allows for a high degree of scalability.
In the future, the company intends to position itself as an infrastructure provider that covers various energy supply solutions in the field of renewable energies.

Investment strategy

The proceeds of the financing will flow into various projects. Around EUR 14 million will be used for four new EEG projects, for which the company has already been awarded the contract. In addition, around EUR 18 million will be used to take over an existing portfolio of 71 CHP plants. The primary energy source here is biomethane (approx. 90%), with natural gas making up a small remaining share of only 10%. The remaining EUR 18 million will be invested in future projects.

The financing is asset-based. According to the company, the basis for this is to be secure and predictable cash flows over the entire financing period. In addition, the volatility of energy prices is to be largely eliminated through purchase agreements with corresponding price adjustment clauses. In contrast to conventional methods with an energy efficiency of approx. 38% on average, the financed technology is expected to make a positive contribution to the energy transition with approx. 90% energy efficiency (according to the company). An initial indicative assessment has shown that the CHP plants to be financed, most of which run on biomethane, meet the criteria of the EU taxonomy.