Greener Power Solutions acquires 45 million euros capital from DIF Capital Partners
AMSTERDAM, 12th of July 2022 – Amsterdam-based Greener Power Solutions (“Greener”), a market leader in mobile battery rental, has raised EUR 45 million. The financing comes from DIF Capital Partners (“DIF”), a Dutch investment company with over EUR 11 billion under management, globally active and specialised in infrastructure and renewable energy, through investment fund DIF CIF III. DIF is a Dutch investment company with over EUR 11 billion under management that is globally active in and invests in infrastructure and sustainable energy. Greener will use the capital to strengthen its market position in the Netherlands and beyond, by further investing in hardware, software and innovation.
When we started Greener, we wanted to disrupt the temporary energy market with our batteries. Now, we can safely say we have achieved this goal. DIF’s investment enables us to pursue new goals and capitalise on the great opportunities we see for our energy solutions. We believe that temporary energy facilities can play a major role in accelerating the transition from fossil to renewable energy sources. Moreover, our ambition is to help customers achieve sustainability on an even larger scale. With this investment, we will strengthen the team, enter new markets and expand the fleet.
There is a large and rapidly growing demand for mobile energy solutions: from construction sites and temporary grid upgrades to mobile charging and events. Since its foundation in 2018, Greener has been providing sustainable mobile energy solutions by renting out mobile batteries. The fleet now consists of 60 batteries with a total capacity of 20 MWh. By replacing polluting diesel generators, Greener has already saved almost 1.5 million litres of diesel and 4.5 million kg of CO2 emissions in recent years. Moreover, Greener’s self-developed software that controls the batteries helps customers to manage their energy consumption in a smarter and more economical way.
Accelerating the transition from fossil to renewable energy sources
CEO Dieter Castelein and his co-founder and COO Klaas Akkerman want to use the investment to further reinforce their market leadership in the Netherlands and to continue scaling up their business. For example, part of the funding raised will be invested in research and development, so that new services and innovations can be rolled out. A substantial expansion of the fleet of mobile batteries is also planned. The upscaling also includes the further professionalisation and expansion of the team, which has already grown significantly in recent years and now consists of 25 employees.
“When we started Greener, we wanted to disrupt the temporary energy market with our batteries,” CEO Dieter Casteleinexplains. “Now, we can safely say we have achieved this goal. DIF’s investment enables us to pursue new goals and capitalise on the great opportunities we see for our energy solutions. We believe that temporary energy facilities can play a major role in accelerating the transition from fossil to renewable energy sources. Moreover, our ambition is to help customers achieve sustainability on an even larger scale. With this investment, we will strengthen the team, enter new markets and expand the fleet,” says Castelein.
DIF sees Greener as a very attractive extension of its existing portfolio in its home country of the Netherlands, according to Willem Jansonius, partner and head of the DIF CIF strategy. “DIF believes that the importance of decarbonising the economy and drastically reducing nitrogen emissions creates unprecedented momentum for clean energy solutions. The current nitrogen crisis in the Netherlands plays a major role in this. Moreover, temporary energy is of growing importance due to the overloading of the Dutch power grid that we are currently seeing. Greener’s mobile energy solutions offer its customers a significant reduction in harmful emissions and therefore contribute to the realisation of the energy transition. We look forward to working together with the management to realise Greener’s ambitious growth plans.”
Differentiating software
Among other things, Akkerman sees opportunities for wider use of the self-developed software that Greener works with. “Our software is what sets us apart from other players in the market. Not only can we provide insight into usage from the battery, we can also control various power sources such as solar, wind and hydrogen. In this way, we connect the temporary energy market to both storage and smart technology. That is important at a time of acute capacity problems on the energy grid and a rapidly rising demand for electricity”, says Akkerman.
Our software is what sets us apart from other players in the market. Not only can we provide insight into usage from the battery, we can also control various power sources such as solar, wind and hydrogen. In this way, we connect the temporary energy market to both storage and smart technology. That is important at a time of acute capacity problems on the energy grid and a rapidly rising demand for electricity
About Greener Power Solutions
Greener Power Solutions is an Amsterdam-based company serving the temporary energy market since 2018. They rent out mobile batteries with their own software to different markets, such as the construction, grid reinforcement, event or EV charging market. By renting out batteries, Greener aims to increase the efficiency and sustainability of energy solutions for on- and off-grid projects. To fully optimise the power supply, Greener has developed its own planning, monitoring and EMS software. In this way, Greener accelerates the energy transition with the mission to keep the CO2 footprint as small as possible.
About DIF Capital Partners
DIF Capital Partners is an independent and globally active investment company with approximately EUR 11 billion under management spread over ten infrastructure funds and co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in (renewable) energy, telecom, social infrastructure and transport sectors with a focus on Europe, North and South America and Australia through two complementary strategies: DIF CIF funds that focus on growth capital and buy-out investments in small to medium-sized companies active in energy transition, telecoms and transport and traditional DIF funds that focus on low-risk infrastructure investments with long-term contracted or regulated revenue streams. DIF’s team consists of 190 professionals based in offices in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto.