Santander Corporate & Investment Banking has acquired a stake in sustainable energy firm, EIT InnoEnergy as part of a EUR 140 million investment round alongside other strategic partners. The investment will help speed up innovation in clean energy by supporting InnoEnergy’s startups.
The move is part of Grupo Santander’s strategy to remain at the forefront of sustainable technology renewable energy advisory and financing. The funds raised will help grow the 200 companies that comprise EIT InnoEnergy’s portfolio, speed up the launch of new startups and boost the company’s expansion in the US.
Since signing a collaboration agreement with EIT InnoEnergy last year, Santander CIB has supported several InnoEnergy startups. Amongst other, advising France’s biggest battery manufacturer, Verkor, on its partnership with Renault, and financing to Germany’s leading hydrogen power solutions company, HPS.
InnoEnergy currently has a portfolio of 200 companies, three of which are unicorns, on track to generate €110 billion in revenue and save 2.1G tonnes of CO2e accumulatively by 2030. Collectively, these companies have raised €9.7 billion in investment to date. This private placement round accelerates InnoEnergy’s role in turning Europe’s ambitions to reach its 2050 net zero objective into a reality, after being the first economy in the world to enshrine it in climate law.
According to Lucas Arangüena, global head of Green Finance for Grupo Santander and global head of ESG for Santander CIB: “As a world leading advisor and financier in Climate Tech, this partnership enables Santander to accelerate and de-risk the development of hundreds of EIT InnoEnergy portfolio companies as we have successfully done in the past, showing Santander’s commitment to contribute to the shift to a low-carbon economy and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Addressing the energy transition, which affects all of our 164 million clients, demands innovation and technology at scale. Building on our successful year-and-a-half strategic partnership, we’re excited to have found a partner in EIT InnoEnergy that is at the cutting edge of technology and innovation, and that has the scale to make a real difference”.
Mikel Lasa, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy Iberia, said: “We’ve hit our investment targets this round. While new strategic partners have come on board, some have reinvested. Between them, we’ve raised enough funds to double our impact. InnoEnergy, its portfolio and its partners are in a unique position to ramp up the energy transition in Europe and, indeed, the world, not to mention reindustrialisation in the West. We’re ready for what’s next. We embarked on our mission in 2010 and are making inroads every day”.
