Mannheimer Swartling has acted as legal advisor in Sweden to P Capital Partners (PCP) in the establishment of the PCP Transition Partner Fund, which closed at approximately €700 million. PCP was founded in 2002 within Proventus AB, raised its first capital in 2009 and became an independent company in 2013, owned by the management team. PCP strategy is based on Proventus AB's 50-year history of investing in transformational companies and building relationships and partnerships with management teams and owners of European companies. PCP Transition Partnership Fund continues to build on the successful debt credit investment strategy that Proventus PCP has implemented since 2002, focusing on funding Nordic companies in need of capital, particularly for sustainable transformation in sectors such as renewable energy, recycling and sustainable development. The investor base includes pension funds, insurance companies, foundations and family offices, among others.
Norway's most powerful CEOs agree that the government must promote more power development, more onshore and offshore power development and ensure that Norway has good cooperation with other European countries. The question for Norway is how to secure enough renewable energy, electricity for industry and promote new jobs. Øyvind Eriksen, CEO of Aker, saids that he believes that Norwegian companies should be involved in offshore wind power development as a priority, so that Norway can be a leader in areas such as offshore oil and gas facilities, and Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor, agrees that the pace of offshore wind development must be accelerated if Norway is to maintain its leading position in the global floating offshore wind sector. Hilde Tonne, CEO of Statnett, said that there is a need for major investments in renewable energy and the grid so that Norway does not suffer from power shortages.
With the acquisition of AquaBiota, NIRAS strengthens its position as Scandinavia's leading environmental consultancy and a key player in the global expansion of offshore wind power. With AquaBiota, the NIRAS organisation now has around 75 environmental consultants in Sweden. They are part of the NIRAS Group's Scandinavian network of around 300 environmental consultants. NIRAS' expertise provides a wide range of environmental services, for example in relation to contaminated areas, environmental impact assessments and permit reviews, environmental due diligence, environmental monitoring and nature inventories, environmental support during operations and contracting, as well as modelling and GIS. With AquaBiota, NIRAS has consolidated its leading position in EIA and the expansion of offshore wind farm licensing. NIRAS has been working on the development of offshore wind farms for more than 20 years, first in Denmark, later in the UK and globally. Overall, NIRAS is involved in projects with a total installed capacity of over 50 GW.
Azelio has recently commissioned an energy storage system at Haneberg Gård in Eskilstuna. The system is powered by solar panels and uses the electricity and heat from the system to dry grain. The system is part of a demonstration project in cooperation with the Swedish Energy Agency, which will demonstrate how Azelio’s TES.POD can ensure a reliable and robust mix of energy supplies where alternative solutions are costly and where renewable energy sources can be integrated into the energy source. The project must also demonstrate the benefits of the 55-65°C of heat provided by the system in parallel with electricity. CEO Jonas Wallmander says this is an important milestone for Azelio. The project has used heat generated by our energy storage system for the first time, and Haneberg will be the springboard for the continued development of this part of the system.
Soltech Energy Solutions and Takbyrån in Alingsås have now signed an agreement with Logistic Contractor, the logistics property operator in Borås. Takbyrån will provide a new roof for the property and Soltech Energy Solutions will then take over and install the rooftop solar cell system. The order value of the project is SEK 13.6 million and construction will start in autumn 2022.
Xpecunia's operating profit fell to SEK 1.2 million in the second quarter of 2022, as Xpecunia prepares for a major expansion of solar energy this summer. Recently, Xpecunia Nordic acquired Creteurner International with the aim of becoming self-sufficient in electricity, and Creturner's shareholders were compensated in the form of Xpecunia shares for a total purchase price of SEK 60 million. Creturner’s business model is climate compensation, converting surplus biomass into elemental carbon, which is deposited and thus permanently reduces atmospheric CO2. Xpecunia calculates that the business could be completely self-sufficient in terms of electricity. It is estimated that this would provide extensive cost synergies of at least SEK 13-16 million per year.
Seatwirl focuses on floating offshore wind power and reported an operating profit of SEK -4.5 million for 2Q22. Seatwirl wrote that the negative result was due to development costs.
In April, Minesto launched plans for the expansion of the Faroe Islands Tidal Energy Park. The plan enables the Faroe Islands to achieve the political goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030. In May, Minesto's first Dragon class tidal power plant 'Dragon 4' (100 kW) was successfully installed in Vestmannasund, Faroe Islands. In July, Minesto announced that the first unit of the Dragon 4 tidal power plant was successfully connected to the grid.
Revenues for the first half of 2022 amounted to SEK 23,502K, mainly comprising self-operated capitalised work of SEK 21,929K. The operating loss was SEK 10,405K, with the negative result mainly attributable to business development and management around technology development, including staff costs and consultants.
Azelio reported net sales of SEK 226,000 and an operating loss of SEK 136,586K for 2Q22. Azelio adopted new operational targets, stipulating that by the end of 2022, Azelio will have delivered a number of projects. By 2023, the company must deliver at least 10 projects in the 0.5-5 MW range. And by 2026, Azelio must deliver projects with a total installed capacity of at least 1 GWh. Azelio decided to reduce its workforce by 55 employees, which, together with the terminated consultancy contracts, reduces a total of 123 full-time positions and aligns the organisation with the new operational targets, reducing costs by approximately SEK 150 million per year.
Ecoclime's net sales increased by 52.4% to SEK 57,441K, of which organic growth was 9.6%. Profit before depreciation (adjusted EBITDA) decreased to SEK -4,292K and the adjusted EBITDA margin decreased to -7.5 %. Operating profit (EBIT) decreased to SEK -13,345K. Its equity ratio was reduced to 75 %.
Green hydrogen technology pioneer P2X Solutions and energy company Savon Voima are investigating the construction of an industrial-scale green hydrogen and electric fuel production facility at Savon Voima's Joensuu power plant site. Once realised, the plant will produce green hydrogen from electricity generated from renewable energy sources with a capacity of 30-50 MW and will generate up to 15-20% of Joensuu's district heating demand as a sidestream. This project will enter the permitting review phase in August. Herkko Plit, CEO of P2X Solutions, said that the cooperation with Savon Voima creates significant synergies, while the possible investment in Joensuu supports the development of a vibrant eastern Finland region. He also said the pace must be accelerated to address the immediate energy crisis and curb climate change.
The Nordic countries are some of the most dynamic and successful economies in the world. They are also leaders in sustainability, from renewable energy, biofuels, carbon capture and storage and the hydrogen economy, circular economy business models and battery development, the Nordics are pioneers in policy design, technology development and consumer uptake. Mundus Nordic Green News is covering this transition for the international community. Every day we curate the stories of most relevance to international businesspeople and policy experts from the flow of news. Mundus Nordic Green Indices summarise the meta-data from our daily coverage to enable easy tracking of trends. We supplement these with our own opinion pieces and commentary.