ABB, Suma Capital, Verbund invest €12m in Spanish battery maker Hesstec

Swiss electrification company and Gamesa Electric owner ABB, Repsol-owned Spanish investment fund manager Suma Capital, and Austrian utility Verbund have financed a €12 million ($13.6 million) capital fundraising round held by Spanish engineer Hybrid Energy Storage Solutions (Hesstec).

The three new investors join the Elewit technology platform of Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica de España and Spanish developer RIC Energy, which have been shareholders in the engineer since 2021, Hesstec President and CEO Eugenio Domínguez told pv magazine.

Domínguez remains Hesstec’s chief shareholder, albeit with less than 50% of the stock.

He said Lee Todd, director of sustainability at ABB’s Else electrification division, has joined Hesstec as a director as part of the capital-raising exercise.

The CEO said the capital injection would permit Valencia-based Hesstec to strengthen its industrial and technological capacity with the launch of a production line for its intelligent control systems and the megawatt-scale expansion of its Advanced Grid Lab for validating energy storage solutions in real and simulated grid scenarios.

The engineering company offers hybrid energy storage systems that integrate batteries with different chemistries, supercapacitors, or other technology to provide grid services including frequency regulation, backup power, peak demand management, and seasonal energy storage. Hesstec also offers its Intelligent Network Management System, a control platform that optimizes the operation, maintenance, and profitability of storage systems in real time.

The Valencia business claims to have validated its technology and deployed hardware in multiple Spanish markets.

Domínguez told pv magazine the new shareholders will be part of a new phase of international expansion with Europe as the primary focus, particularly in Germany, France, Italy, and the Nordic countries. Hesstec also plans to enter North and Latin America and the Middle East, said the company president.

The CEO added Hesstec would offer large-scale systems to grid operators and renewable energy plants, and smaller hardware to offer large C&I clients electricity consumption flexibility, secure supply, and energy bill savings.

Commenting on the investment round, Domínguez said, “This transaction represents a qualitative leap in our roadmap. We are combining technology, industrial vision, and capital committed to sustainability to accelerate the deployment of solutions that will enable a more robust, resilient, and fully decarbonized grid. Now, we are also strengthening our industrial capabilities with our own manufacturing plant and a megawatt-scale grid laboratory unique in Europe.”

From pv magazine España.