Zenobē secures £600m from KKR

Fleet electrification and battery storage solution firm Zenobē has secured £600m from investment firm KKR.

The news comes as an additional £270m of equity has been invested by existing shareholder Infracapital, which will see the two companies become joint majority shareholders in Zenobē. Jera and TEPCO Power Grid will remain as minority, strategic shareholders.

The investment will complement Infracapital’s presence in Europe and play a crucial role in supporting Zenobē’s growth initiatives in the UK, North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, it said. 

Cash will be used to fuel the expansion of the company’s fleet electrification and grid-scale battery storage business, scaling up Zenobē’s current support for more than 1,000 electric buses, trucks and commercial vehicles worldwide. By 2026, Zenobē aims to support 4,000 electric buses, trucks and commercial vehicles on the road. 

New investment will see the firm design and construct two additional battery storage sites across Scotland at Kilmarnock South and Eccles, as well as the extension in capacity of the company’s battery storage asset at Blackhillock, which integrates wind power into the grid as part of the firm’s plans to commission 1.2GW of storage in the UK by 2026. The investment will also back its target to develop an additional 2.5GW of battery energy storage assets in North America and Australia by 2030. 

The equity investment is the latest in a series of financial agreements by Zenobē, who have secured around £1.8 billion of equity and debt finance since being established by its three founders Nicholas Beatty, James Basden and Steven Meersman in 2017.

Nicholas Beatty, Co-founder and Director of Zenobē, said: “Batteries are critical to optimising the use of renewable electricity and making cheaper, greener and more secure power accessible. As fleet operators transition to electric, batteries offer a proven and available technology which, combined with software and data insights, can optimise the operators’ fleet while achieving zero emissions.”

Alberto Signori, Partner, European Infrastructure at KKR, said:  “This is a rare opportunity to support a clear leader in transport decarbonisation and battery storage, two sectors which are critical in driving the transition to a net zero world. We believe Zenobē will continue to benefit from strong secular tail winds including stricter emission regulation in urban and regional areas, and the greater use of low carbon generation in the energy mix driving a need for grid balancing solutions.”

Andy Matthews, Head of Greenfield at Infracapital, said“This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone for the business and fulfils our confidence in its ability to continue to play a leading role in sustainable solutions. We look forward to continuing to contribute our expertise and resources to support Zenobē’s further success on a global scale, whilst creating long-term value for our investors.” 

Image courtesy of Zenobe

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