ESCO Energy Efficiency breakthrough: DB Energy SA partners with SUSI Partners - first ESCO financing strategy in Poland

DB Energy has signed an agreement to finance energy efficiency projects in the ESCO model for industrial customers. The partner is a Swiss infrastructure fund manager, SUSI Partners, which specialises in sustainable investments supporting the energy transition. SUSI Partners will enable the financing of projects with a total value of at least EUR 20 million by the end of 2023. DB Energy plans further dynamic growth in the energy investment segment of the ESCO market in Poland. At present, the company has nearly 30 identified investment projects worth approximately EUR 40 million.

- DB Energy has extensive expertise in energy efficiency and experience in the implementation of such investments in industry, from design to energy efficiency management. Thanks to cooperation with a reliable international financial partner, we will significantly expand our offer of financing for industrial ESCO projects, which should translate into an increase in the scale and number of investment projects in the long term," said Krzysztof Piontek, President of DB Energy. Currently, the company is analyzing over 30 projects that could potentially be included in our portfolio," adds CEO Piontek.

- We highly value the cooperation with DB Energy as a highly capable long-term partner specializing in energy efficiency projects customized to industrial customer needs, said Alexander Hunzinger, Managing Director of SUSI Energy Efficiency Fund II. 

Institutional financing for ESCO projects implemented by DB Energy 

DB Energy has signed an agreement with a Swiss infrastructure fund manager to finance energy efficiency projects in the ESCO model. The agreement will allow a total of at least EUR 20 million over two years. For the purposes of the cooperation, the Company has identified 30 investment projects with an estimated value of nearly EUR 40 million. The Company's development strategy assumes a gradual increase in the share of investment projects in the area of energy efficiency, with particular emphasis on ESCO projects in DB Energy's portfolio. Proventus Renewables Ltd, managed by Bart Dujczyński – advisor to the Management of DB Energy S.A, assisted with the structuring of the financing.

The financial partner, SUSI Partners, specialises in sustainable energy infrastructure investments focused on opportunities in clean energy generation, energy efficiency enhancements, and energy storage and integrated solutions. The firm manages EUR 1.5 billion in investor commitments and has a successful track record of more than 100 transactions in 20 countries to date.

SUSI Partners’ energy efficiency platform is a leading investment platform for financing energy efficiency projects across Europe. Its second vehicle, the SUSI Energy Efficiency Fund II, has raised 289 million euros in investor commitments and builds on the good track record of its predecessor and an extensive partner network.

ESCO projects for energy efficiency of the company

The traditional model of investment in energy efficiency assumes the involvement of the company's own, often not insignificant financial resources, which are returned after about 3-4 years or more. It is only after this period that the company starts to generate financial surpluses on the savings project. In ESCO projects, the investment costs are covered by the ESCO, sharing the savings with the customer. The customer gets some of the money resulting from the energy savings already in the first year after the project, so it immediately has the financial surplus free money to use for other projects.

ESCO is an optimal model of investment implementation for improving the energy efficiency of the company, reduces the technical risk of the investment, and the client does not engage his financial resources in the investment. Moreover, the ESCO company guarantees a long-term improvement in the energy efficiency of the industrial installation, which translates into optimisation of the operating costs of the company and an increase in the company's profits.

The EU ESCO market is estimated at USD 3 billion, most of which is carried out in Germany. The fastest growing markets in Europe are East Germany, Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary. Last year Poland also joined the peloton! The value of the Polish ESCO market is estimated at EUR 200 million.