Zenobē Energy has secured £20 million worth of funding from NatWest in order to help it develop the electric vehicle (EV) side of its business.
The NatWest Specialist Structured Finance will help the battery operator to provide end-to-end services to bus operators, including design, installation, financing and operation of charging at depots. Additionally, financing and optional replacement of the battery within the buses themselves, and financing on non-battery components.
This will help electrify the bus sector faster, according to Zenobē, aiding decarbonisation efforts. This will be particularly important as the UK comes out of lockdown with a renewed emphasis on EVs as transport services return to normal.
Piers Johnson, head of corporates for specialist asset finance at NatWest said they were pleased to support the increased use of EVs and help to create a greener transport system
“We have set out an ambition to play a leading role in helping to address the climate challenge and this deal is a clear demonstration of how we are supporting the transition to a low carbon economy.”
The funding follows Zenobē securing £25 million in funding from Santander in December, allowing it to target C&I growth. Additionally, it raised £35 million of equity from JERA Co. Inc. and TEPCO Power Grid Inc in 2019.
Last August, the company announced that it will support the launch of 34 electric buses in London as part of its £120 million EV fund.
Nicholas Beatty, founder director of Zenobē Energy, said: “This facility with NatWest demonstrates Zenobē’s continuing leadership in the battery sector with its focus on innovation and provision of solutions to customers which combine the company’s technology, operational and financing capabilities.
“This funding will be crucial in allowing us to achieve our growth ambitions and support our fast developing EV fleet businesses as our clients adopt zero emission fleets both in the EV bus sector and the wider EV fleet market”.
Zenobē has 73MW of operational grid-scale battery capacity in the UK, and in March celebrated the use of its batteries for reactive power services for the grid as part of the ‘world-first’ Power Potential Project.