Econergy has secured approximately £42.7 million in project financing from Santander UK for its 80 MW (240 MWh) battery storage project in Immingham, England, backed by a 10-year revenue floor agreement with EDF Energy Customers. Signed by the project company, Ecostor 1 Immingham, the Santander loan comes to roughly £38.4 million, plus two smaller facilities covering VAT costs and a cash reserve for debt repayments. Most of the money will fund construction and repay loans the shareholders provided during development.
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Alongside the debt package, Econergy signed two 10-year revenue floor agreements with EDF, each covering 40 MW of the project. EDF will manage trading for the battery and guarantee a minimum annual income, with any extra earnings above that floor shared between the two companies. Together with related capacity market payments, these guaranteed revenues are expected to total £45 to 50 million over ten years, covering roughly half the project's expected income over that period.
A signal of market maturity
Combining Santander's project debt with EDF's long-term revenue certainty mirrors the structure Econergy used to close its Dalmarnock BESS financing earlier this year. It is now the second time this pairing has worked for the company, suggesting it may be becoming standard practice in the UK storage market. "It is great to be closing another UK storage project, and a three hour battery of this size is a real milestone," said Joshua Murphy, Econergy's Director of Energy Storage. "Once commissioned it will be among the largest batteries in the country operating above two hours."
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EDF's Stuart Fenner, Commercial Director at the company's Wholesale Market Services arm, called the deal the second in the two companies' partnership and part of a wider effort to electrify Britain, with battery optimisation and a reliable revenue base helping asset owners like Econergy unlock further capital. (TF)
