Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) has acquired a 51% stake in German battery storage platform Green Energy Storage Initiative (GESI).
AllianzGI, which has invested an undisclosed sum on behalf of Allianz insurance companies, said the investment is intended to support system-critical infrastructure aimed at enhancing the stability and resilience of the energy network.
GESI develops, constructs and operates large utility-scale battery storage systems to provide flexibility within the energy system. The company is currently developing three large-scale battery storage projects across Bavaria and Lower Saxony, with an aggregate grid connection capacity of around 2.6GW.
Ludovic Subran, CIO at Allianz Group, said the investment in GESI is the firm’s second direct equity investment in battery storage in Germany, alongside the partnership with TotalEnergies that was announced at the beginning of March.
He said: “We are delighted to be working with the established and highly experienced management team and the shareholders of GESI to further drive the development of large-scale battery storage in Germany.”
Édouard Jozan, head of private markets at Allianz Global Investors, said that, following the firm’s recently announced investment in the electricity transmission system operator Amprion, “we are now making with this second investment in battery storage once again a targeted investment in a key technology of the energy transition that combines security of supply, grid stability and decarbonisation, and offers our customers long-term value creation potential”.
Walter Raizner, CEO at GESI, said: “For a successful and affordable energy transition, Germany urgently needs additional storage capacity. With Allianz as an experienced and renowned partner, we are now ideally positioned to make a significant contribution to the transformation of the German energy system in the interests of climate protection and an independent, sustainable energy supply.”
Jens Michael Wegmann, COO at GESI, said: “Currently, green electricity worth billions of euros is lost every year because wind and solar power plants have to be curtailed or shut down.
“Allianz’s commitment demonstrates that energy storage is a key lever for better utilising the potential of renewables, reducing system costs, increasing security of supply and thereby improving the overall economic efficiency of the energy system.”
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