European Clean Energy Investment Guide 2012

MarkeT aNalysis
Market Analysis
European Venture Capital & Private Equity Investment 2011 Overview
The following analysis is based on data extracted from the Clean Energy pipeline online platform
Bigger but fewer deals
Venture capital and private equity investment (excluding
buyouts) in the European clean energy sector totalled $1.86
billion in 2011, a 3% increase on the $1.8 billion recorded
in 2010. Yet despite this encouraging headline figure,
the number of completed investments fell to 149, a 28%
decrease on the 208 deals executed in 2010.
This trend is showing no signs of abating in early 2012 –
only 34 deals were completed in 1Q12, 8% and 35% below
the 2011 and 2010 quarterly averages of 37 and 52 deals
respectively.
Private equity seeing value in power assets
Private equity funds allocated $7.4 billion to European
clean energy power projects in 2011, more than double the
Venture capital and private equity investment
(excluding buyouts) in European energy storage
technology companies reached $133 million in 2011
more than double the $66 million recorded in 2010.
“
”
$3 billion invested in 2010. The standout transaction was
private equity firm Bridgepoint’s $880 million acquisition
of 443 MW of operational Spanish wind capacity owned
by ACS, which accounted for 12% of the total volume of
project buyout activity in 2011.
The surge in activity is being driven by two factors. Firstly,
onshore wind and solar PV have matured to the extent
that operational projects are increasingly seen as safe
assets that offer long-term low-risk returns. In addition,
the volume of assets on the market increased significantly
34
in 2011 due to a series of divestiture programmes by
many major European utilities. Italian utilities Terna and
Sorgenia divested large portfolios of solar PV assets in 2011
while major European utilities E.ON, RWE, Dong and SSE
all sold a series of onshore wind projects.
Activity in early 2012 suggests that power assets are still in
vogue. Some $1.5 billion worth of projects were acquired
by private equity funds in 1Q12, slightly less than the 2011
quarterly average of $1.9 billion but more than double the
2010 quarterly average of $751 million.
New technologies come to the fore
2011 was also notable as a year when a number of
nascent clean energy subsectors came of age. Venture
capital and private equity investment (excluding
buyouts) in European energy storage technology
companies reached $133 million in 2011, more than
double the $66 million recorded in 2010. 2012 appears
to be shaping up as a strong year for energy storage
investment – energy storage companies secured $37
million in 1Q12, the second largest volume of financing
allocated to the sector in any quarter since the beginning
of 2010.
There is also increasing activity in the water treatment
sector. Some $63 million was invested in such companies
in 4Q11 and 1Q12 alone, more than the $40 million
allocated to the sector in 2011 and the $55 million
invested in 2010. This increase is being underpinned
by investment in developers of wastewater treatment
technology. Headline deals include the $36 million
secured by UK-based waste water treatment specialist
Bluewater Bio in March 2011 and the $24 million
raised by water treatment technology company Amplio
Filtration in October 2011.