Japanese firm Nippon Koei has made another move into the European market, making a strategic investment in Beligian aggregator Yuso.
The company now holds a 29% stake in Yuso, acquired entirely through it European subsidiary Nippon Koei Energy Europe.
The move helps Nippon Koei secure its position in the European market, as well as ensure it is well placed for the future energy transition in Japan.
Yuso was established in 2012, and through its software platform My Yuso Portal helps connect small and medium renewable generators to the wholesale power market. It provides services to 810 sites, mostly in Belgium, with a total capacity of 180MW.
Bart Pycke, the co-founder of Yuso said: “We see great opportunity to expand our platform and we are pleased to see Nippon Koei recognize our unique position and how we create value for our customers and our company. We look forward to collaborate with Nippon Koei on similar solutions for the Japanese market.”
This is not the Japanese company’s first move into the European market. In March it formed a joint venture with British battery storage firm RNA Energy to construct two 50MW behind-the-meter storage projects in the UK.
This is part of a wider trend of Japanese firms entering the market, with 2019 seeing a number of partnerships and investments.
In March, Centrica announced it was to work with Japan’s largest power firm, Tokyo Electric Power Company, to provide demand response services for the country’s grid.
Software developer Next Kraftwerke signed a memorandum of understanding in October with Toshiba’s energy systems arm to help it develop a virtual power plants.
More recently, a consortium featuring Mitsubishi and Japanese utility Chubu announced it would buy out European energy major Eneco. Mitsubishi specified that this was to allow it to target further European growth.
UK smart technology company Igloo Energy, last week announced a strategic investment partnership with Osaka Gas Co.
