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Luxembourg / Paris – 25/11/2021 – The European infrastructure fund Marguerite II led a successful 40 million euros funding round for ZE Energy, together with French local utility Groupe Sorégies and historical shareholders Demeter, HTGF, EverWatt and ZE Way Invest.
ZE Energy is a French integrated, independent power producer that develops, builds and operates hybrid solar-plus-storage power plants. It was founded in 2019 by a seasoned team of former Solairedirect managers led by Mr. Mathieu Lassagne, founder and CEO of the company.
ZE Energy is at the forefront of the renewable energy industry and has managed to design a value proposition to cope with the pressing challenges underpinning the energy transition. The company’s hybrid solar-plus-storage plants solve the intermittency and cannibalization challenges of solar energy. Such solutions contribute to increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix, without the need for traditional power plants to compensate for periods of shortage, thus reducing CO2 emissions and dependence on fossil fuels.
The company also leverages digital solutions to optimize the use of its energy generation assets at all times. Its business model involves direct sales to corporate customers and answering their need for reliable supply of local green energy. The company recently signed an innovative corporate power purchase agreement with Groupe Sorégies for 150 GWh/year of renewable electricity over a 20-year period.
Following the successful project financing and ongoing construction of ZE Energy’s solar-plus-storage projects in France (Mennetou and Gièvres in central France), Marguerite and ZE Energy’s other shareholders will now support its European expansion, with operations to start in Italy and Germany. Today, ZE Energy has a project portfolio totalling 170 MW in photovoltaic solar power and over 65 MWh in battery storage. By 2025, the company aims at reaching, thanks to its deployment in four countries, solar plants amounting to more than 700 MW in total PV capacity, and over 350 MWh in running battery power, for a turnover of about €60M.
This investment fits Marguerite’s strategy in renewables to back innovative business models and platforms of pipeline projects to unlock long-term value. This is Marguerite II’s fourth investment in sustainable infrastructure companies in 2021 following its investments in the intermodal freight transport operator GTS (Italy), district heating developer Rebi (Spain), and the acquisition of the green data centre operator Conapto (Sweden).
“We are delighted to assist ZE Energy in this decisive stage of its development. The founding team led by Mathieu Lassagne has succeeded in creating a value proposition that is highly relevant to the photovoltaic and electricity sector, meeting the need for flexibility and reliability of supply through innovative marketing contracts. We are proud to support the growth and internationalization of this company that perfectly fits Marguerite’s focus on greenfield projects helping to deliver the energy transition”, said Guillaume Rivron, Partner at Marguerite.
“We are thrilled by this second round of financing that will give us additional resources to speed up our development in the competitive renewable energy market in France and abroad. This operation reflects the strength of our business model and of our positioning as a multi-country independent producer aiming at flexible production of solar energy marketed in a short circuit to companies and communities. By 2050, electricity consumption is expected to increase by more than 30%. The government has decided to step up a gear in regards to renewables in order to meet this growing demand. Our hybrid power plants are a key part of this ambition. We are delighted that Marguerite and Groupe Sorégies joined us, providing essential support to ZE Energy”, added Mathieu Lassagne, CEO of ZE Energy.
Marguerite was advised by Astris (M&A), Linklaters (legal), Baringa (commercial), Arup (technical), PwC (financial and tax), and Marsh (insurance).