Belgian energy storage firm Bnewable, founded in 2022 and specializing in battery systems and energy management for businesses, has announced a €40 million commitment of fresh growth capital by its existing investors.
This new funding will be used to accelerate operations in Belgium, make further investments in battery storage at customer sites, and fulfill both its Belgian and European ambitions.
“The three current external investors – RGREEN INVEST, which invests in companies wishing to play a prominent role in energy transition, Wallonie Entreprendre, the Walloon investment fund and Dovesco Fund Investments, which invests in scale ups with a focus on technology and sustainability, among others – confirm their confidence in Bnewable with this new capital commitment,” said Bnewable.
“They thus support the commitment of the founders, management and employees to make Bnewable a leading player in the Belgian and European energy transition.”
Nicolas Rochon, founder and president of RGREEN INVEST, said: “Energy management is crucial for Europe’s independence and competitiveness. RGREEN INVEST’s ambition is based on the conviction that the energy transition will not happen without the support of new business models and of entrepreneurs developing essential solutions to accelerate this transition.”
Olivier Bouchat, member of the Executive Committee of Wallonie Entreprendre, said: “Our investment strategy is focused on fostering and growing solutions to accelerate the decarbonization of industries.
“Bnewable’s solutions clearly contribute to this. We believe that Bnewable’s offering makes a lot of sense for industrial companies that must increasingly rely on low-carbon but at the same time volatile energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines.”
Kristof Vereenooghe, co-founder of Bnewable, said: “With the new €40 million investment, we will accelerate our growth strategy in Belgium and serve our customers even better in an increasingly complex electricity market.
“Specifically, we want to help companies optimize the yield of installed renewable capacity and reduce the impact of price volatility on the electricity market.
“Although our focus is on the Belgian market, we are also currently exploring options to implement our model in other European countries.
“This will enable us to further support our international customers in their operations abroad. Studies, such as those conducted by Solar Power Europe, show that the European market for ‘behind the meter’ – energy storage will grow to 50 gigawatt hours by 2030.
“We want to have a significant part of that capacity under our own management with Bnewable.”
Christophe Degrez, CEO and co-founder of Bnewable, said: “Our ambition is to manage one gigawatt hour of storage capacity in Belgium by 2030, equivalent to the capacity of two gas power plants.
“Smart control allows us to aggregate the energy generated via battery systems at our customers’ premises. By deploying this capacity flexibly, we not only create added value for the power grid, but also let a large part of the revenues from this flow back to our customers.
“In this way, together with our customers, we are building a sustainable and value-driven energy company that wants to respond to the energy challenges of the future. With the new capital commitment, Bnewable is well positioned to play a key role in the Belgian and European energy transition.”