(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces it has completed an investment into the European Battery Energy Storage System (‘BESS’) market, through an investment with Terra One Climate Solutions (‘Terra One’), a vertically-integrated battery storage developer and operator based in Germany, worth up to €150 million.
As part of its investment Aviva Investors will acquire an initial shareholding in Terra One, as well as two seats on the Company’s Board.
The initial €75 million commitment by Aviva Investors will sit alongside an additional €15 million of funding from Terra One to help finance the construction of c.500MW of BESS assets in Germany, which are expected to be operational by 2028, with the potential to top-up its investment at a later date. The deal allows for a total commitment of €150 million from Aviva Investors to support the construction of Terra One’s pipeline of later-stage development assets.
Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Berlin, Terra One is technology company that develops and operates battery storage systems in Europe. The firm is also developing AI models to automatically operate its battery storage systems and stabilise the European power grid, with the goal of reducing electricity costs for end users and making renewable energy permanently available.
Terra One currently has a pipeline of assets across the entire BESS value chain totalling 5.8 GW, covering development projects, those under construction and operational assets which the company manages in-house.
Aviva Investors was advised by Ashurst LLP.
Angenika Kunne, Head of Infrastructure Equity at Aviva Investors, said:
“We are pleased to have completed this platform investment in Terra One, a company which has benefitted from first-mover advantage in one of Europe’s largest power markets. Energy storage in Germany is at a fast-growing and dynamic stage of its development, making it an exciting place to invest whilst capturing growth and returns. This is another example of how Aviva Investors is investing in new technologies that can help whole industries get ready for the future.
“The investment sits well within our overall Climate Transition strategy, increasing our exposure to a core energy market. Investing into Terra One directly also provides us with diversification and gives us exposure to its entire portfolio of assets. We look forward to working with the team at Terra One and continuing to scale its early success.”