Swiss investment manager SUSI Partners has joined forces with Free Energia to finance energy efficiency projects in Italy.

SUSI, on behalf of its energy efficiency funds, has agreed with the energy management firm to initially finance up to €10m of projects. The projects will include LED street lighting, rooftop solar PV, and combined heat and power plants.

The duo said they have closed the financing of a portfolio consisting of three on-site energy generation projects with corporates and two street lighting projects with municipalities.

Stefano Fissolo, transaction manager at SUSI, said: “We are proud to kick off this partnership with Free Energia and are looking forward to expanding the initial volume to fund a project pipeline over the next years.

“Since 2015, this is the tenth energy service company we partner with in Italy. We continue our commitment to the Italian market for the years to come.”

Marino Cucca, the chairman of Free Energia: “We are very proud to partner with SUSI, who allows us to match our aspirations to delve stronger into the Italian energy saving market whilst, at the same time, foster Free Energia’s financial robustness and long-term sustainable growth.”

Salvatore Pelleriti, CEO of Free Energia: “Through this transaction, we further expand our ability to cater for the energy saving needs of our clients and to effectively tackle the trends affecting players and processes in the generation, transport/distribution, and consumption of energy in Italy, which are becoming more and more decentralized, sustainable and interconnected.”