Alternative asset and private equity investor KKR announced today an investment of $750 million in transport electrification and battery storage solutions provider Zenobē.

KKR said that the investment will be used to scale Zenobē across two of the largest decarbonization opportunities in infrastructure, namely accelerating the global decarbonization of diesel fleets, and decarbonizing the energy sector through grid services.

Shreya Malik, Director in KKR’s European Infrastructure team, said:

“We believe Zenobē will continue to benefit from strong secular tail winds including stricter emission regulation in urban and regional areas, and the greater use of low carbon generation in the energy mix driving a need for grid balancing solutions. We see significant growth opportunities within Zenobē’s existing customer base, as well as huge potential in new markets globally.”

Founded in 2017, London-based Zenobē provides electrification solutions for fleets and battery storage solutions for grid network infrastructure. The company’s solutions include the conversion of conventional internal combustion vehicles to electric, covering chassis financing, vehicle batteries, depot charging infrastructure, and integrated software. The company also develops large-scale grid-connected batteries to bolster low-carbon energy generation and support net-zero ambitions while maintaining grid stability.

Zenobē currently has operations in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Benelux, and is expanding into North America. The company has 430MW of battery storage in operation or under construction with another 1.2GW of projects in advanced development, and is the largest owner and operator of EV buses in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Nicholas Beatty, Co-founder and Director of Zenobē, said:

“KKR provides Zenobē with a leading international strategic partner to support our expansion plans, taking our experience in accelerating the electrification of fleets and maximizing the uptake of renewables into North America, Europe, Australasia and other markets. It also provides support for our ability to raise further debt funding for these expansion plans.”

The investment is the first from KKR’s new global climate strategy, dedicated to investing in solutions at scale to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Alberto Signori, Partner in KKR’s European Infrastructure team, said:

“This is a rare opportunity to support a clear leader in transport decarbonisation and battery storage, two sectors which are critical in driving the transition to a net-zero world. As a significant contributor to the decarbonisation of our economies, Zenobē is an exemplary first investment in KKR’s global climate strategy which seeks to scale up businesses at the forefront of delivering real-world solutions to reduce carbon emissions.”

Zenobē’s current majority shareholder, M&G plc’s infrastructure investment arm Infracapital, will also invest alongside KKR, with the two firms becoming joint majority shareholders.

Andy Matthews, Head of Greenfield at Infracapital, said:

“This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone for the business and fulfils our confidence in its ability to continue to play a leading role in sustainable solutions. We look forward to continuing to contribute our expertise and resources to support Zenobē’s further success on a global scale, whilst creating long-term value for our investors.”