Macquarie Capital acted as lead equity investor in Lion Storage’s Project Mufasa – the largest BESS in the Netherlands and one of the largest systems of its kind in Europe.1
With a power capacity of 350 MW and energy capacity of 1,400 MWh, this system has sufficient capacity to power over 200,000 households;1 a significant enhancement to the country’s existing installed BESS capacity, which stood at 621 MWh in 2023.6
Macquarie Capital’s extensive network in energy transition capital markets was leveraged to facilitate the best possible outcomes for all stakeholders, including raising additional equity capital alongside Macquarie’s initial investment, raising the project finance debt from a group of European lenders.
With its experience in the renewable energy sector, Macquarie worked closely with the developer to structure a unique investment approach tailored to their needs. In addition, the Macquarie team supported Lion Storage in commercial negotiations with key contractors. These included Tesla, which acted as the engineering, procurement and construction partner, and the operator Eneco. A Market Model Revenue Index (MMRI) offtake was developed to enable the project to benefit from Dutch energy markets without the exposure to trading risks.
Furthermore, Macquarie Capital worked across the Macquarie Group, including leveraging the expertise of the Commodities and Global Markets business to benchmark the transaction’s innovative lithium hedge and mitigate associated pricing risks.