CVE raises €100 million from ICG Infra

CVE, a France-based independent producer of renewable energy across multiple countries and sources of power, announces that Intermediate Capital Group plc, a global alternative asset manager, has invested €100 million in CVE through its infrastructure investment arm (ICG Infra). This is an additional investment to the €100 million that ICG had already subscribed in 2020 in equity and quasi-equity.

This new investment will enable CVE to finance and strengthen its development in France and abroad, by granting the group additional resources to seize market opportunities in a context of global acceleration of renewable energies. The group achieved a sales of €76 million in 2022, an annual increase of more than 50%, and employs 350 people. CVE plans to quadruple its construction and operating capacity by 2027 with a strong acceleration in France, Chile and the US and the continuing success of its integrated business model in biogas activities.

Balanced development in France and abroad

This transaction will provide CVE with additional resources to finance and strengthen its development in France and abroad, allowing it to seize opportunities in a very buoyant market.
The capital raised will be allocated to support its development and meet exponential demand in France, with, for example, new solutions dedicated to flexible solar self-consumption or agrivoltaics. CVE also plans to integrate the launch of an agricultural methanization offer and accelerate its waste collection, deconditioning and recovery activity in the biogas segment. With the acquisition of Ecovalim in 2022, CVE is today the only independent player controlling the entire value chain, from the collection of bio-waste to the return of organic matter to the soil, including the production of biomethane.

These funds will also finance the continued development of the group internationally, and strengthen its presence in countries where it can develop its model as a producer of decentralized renewable energies in short circuit with:

• Diversification of its offer in Chile. In this market, CVE plans to position itself on medium-sized assets whose energy will essentially be sold directly to companies via CPPAs (Corporate Power Purchase Agreements). CVE will also remain active in the PMGD (Small Distributed Generation Means) segment, in which the group has become one of the market leaders.
• An extension of its presence in the United States. The Community Solar offer – currently deployed in the states of New York and Massachusetts – will be extended to new American states likely to deploy support programs driven by certain provisions of the IRA (Inflation Reduction Act).
• The development of its solar business in the PPA and self-consumption segments in South Africa and Spain, where CVE has recently established itself and which represents strong growth potential.

The group plans to quadruple its assets in operation and under construction

“We are very pleased with this new capital increase from ICG, underpinning its confidence in CVE’s strategy, its management and the group’s employees”, commented Pierre de Froidefond, Hervé Lucas and Arnaud Réal Del Sarte, the partners of CVE. “This operation will allow us to continue our development, in a global economic context where the need for renewables is exploding. We plan to quadruple our assets with 2.7 GW in 2027 compared to 640 MW at the end of 2022.”

Guillaume d’Engremont, head of European infrastructure investment strategy at ICG, commented: “CVE has experienced very strong growth since we first invested in 2020 and has strengthened its position as a leading independent producer of renewable energy. We are delighted to renew our confidence in the company, its founding partners and the management team and support CVE in this new phase of the company’s history by providing additional financial resources to support its future growth”.