FF Ventures has launched a process to secure a co-investor to help progress an up to 2.6 GW battery storage project pipeline located across Spain, Portugal and Romania, it is understood.

The Madrid, Spain-based group, which is backed by shareholders Octopus Energy and TimetoAct Capital, began approaching prospective investors over the “Project Essence” transaction this month and under current timelines will aim to receive non-binding offers in March, according to market sources.

FF Ventures is looking to bring a co-investor into its dedicated, 18-person battery storage platform, with the incoming partner to provide devex funding & grid bond provision for the unit’s project pipeline, which is split between Romania (circa 1.7 GW), Portugal (c. 500 MW) and Spain (c. 400 MW) and all of which is being brought forward by local teams.

The group currently has 14 projects in Spain, of which around 106 MW has been able to secure grid connections with a further 266 MW pending approval, up to 100 MW of which could potentially be secured by the end of Q1. It has been able to make moves for the initial capacity despite the government having reserved most of the country’s grid capacity for still unannounced capacity tenders.

In Romania, FF is bringing forward 12 projects in total, and is targeting securing 500-750 MW of grid connections by the end of 2025, as part of the country’s current “first-come, first-served” grid obtention mechanism. However, this will be replaced with a competitive tender capacity allocation mechanism in 2026.

FF’s Portuguese pipeline is being prepared for capacity auctions, with the developer having looked to secure land agreements near key substations and progress projects ahead of the competitive tenders launching.

FF Ventures aims to have brought the bulk of the pipeline to ready-to-build over the next two years.

The platform is likely to require around EUR 5.6m in devex over the next four years, in addition to grid bonds. The incoming BESS partner will have pre-emption rights to acquire projects out of the pipeline as they reach RTB, although schemes could also be sold to third parties if preferred.

FF Ventures is aiming to sign and close a deal with the incoming BESS partner by the end of June, it is understood.

FF Ventures develops onshore & offshore wind and solar PV projects, in addition to BESS, and is also active in France and Mexico, with its total project pipeline standing at around 6 GW.

Finergreen (financial) is understood to be advising FF Ventures on the Project Essence transaction.

*This story was originally published exclusively for NPM Europe subscribers.

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