AIP Management is acquiring a 50% stake in a 500MW UK battery energy storage system (BESS) project owned by a fund managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).
AIP will co-own the construction-stage Coalburn 2 battery project in South Lanarkshire, in southern Scotland, alongside Copenhagen Infrastructure IV.
CIP said it will continue to lead delivery of the Coalburn 2 project through the current construction phase.
Once the site is commissioned in 2027, AIP will take its 50% ownership stake in what will then be Europe’s largest BESS project. Financial details were not disclosed.
Nischal Agarwal, partner at CIP, said: “As CIP’s development and construction portfolio of UK BESS projects continues to progress and grow, we look forward to welcoming AIP as a new partner on our Coalburn 2 site, which once commissioned in 2027 shall be Europe’s biggest operational BESS project.”
The deal follows a similar transaction in April, where AXA IM Alts took a 50% stake in CI IV’s adjacent 500MW Coalburn 1 BESS project in South Lanarkshire. CIP is also developing the 500MW Devilla project in Fife, near the town of Kincardine.
Agarwal said the delivery of Coalburn 2, alongside CIP’s Coalburn 1 and Devilla projects, will “improve the UK’s energy security, enable more low cost renewables to be delivered and will reduce costs for British consumers through enhanced system flexibility”.
Greg Falzon, partner and co-head of investments at AIP, said: “This investment reinforces our conviction in the UK energy-storage market and reflects our strategy of partnering selectively on high-quality, ready-to-build or operational assets.
“Together with our recent Ardenham investment, it forms part of a growing portfolio that combines strong downside protection with long-term value creation.”
Nordic financial group Storebrand owns a 60% stake in AIP, which was founded by Danish pension provider PKA and is also backed by fellow Danish pension fund PenSam.
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