Gore Street Capital completes first close on Europe BESS fund, targeting €500 million by year-end

Gore Street Capital announced today, 22 January, that it has completed the first close for its GS EU Fund SCSp, a tranche of funding designed to build out BESS infrastructure across Europe.

The company will focus on acquiring, building and managing BESS projects with 80% minimum target exposure to European Union member states. This close is the first of three planned closes for this fund, with Gore Street targeting a final close of €500 million by the end of this year.

The company outlined commitments from the European Investment Fund and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, alongside a range of institutional, strategic, and family office entities.

GS EU is Gore Street’s third BESS fund, according to the company. It already has around 1.4 GW of BESS assets under management across the three funds.

Alex O’Cinneide, CEO, Gore Street thanked the first close investors, adding “We are pleased to have strong support from returning investors and are excited to welcome new investors to the GSC platform. GS EU marks our third dedicated BESS fund, building on our global expertise and track record across the US, European, and Asian markets to advance energy storage as a cornerstone of the EU’s energy transition. The European market is entering a period of significant growth, and we look forward to continuing to play a leading role in shaping its future.”

GS EU is classified as an Article 9 fund under the EU Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulation. Gore Street has set up a dedicated Environmental and Social Management System to govern the Fund’s ESG obligations in line with EU expectations.

The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) announced a commitment of up to €75 million to the fund. It was a returning investor, having previously invested €30 million in Gore Streets 2019 Energy Storage Fund, which financed the build-out of batteries in Ireland.

Currently, Gore Street has two 50 MW BESS projects in Northern Ireland: The Mullavilly BESS and the Drumkee BESS. It also has the 30 MW Porterstown Phase 1 BESS in the Republic of Ireland, with the second phase – 60 MW – in pre-construction. The 75 MW Mucklagh BESS, as well as Phase 1 and 2 of the Kilmannock BESS projects (with a capacity totaling 120 MW) are also all in pre-construction.

Elsewhere in Europe, it has batteries in Scotland (the operational 49.9 MW Ferrymuir BESS) and in England (200 MW Middleton BESS in pre-construction, 20 MW operational Hulley BESS, 20 MW operational Lascar BESS, 57 MW operational Enderby BESS among others in various stages of development and completion.) Gore Street is also working on a 20 MW BESS in Tokyo, which is in pre-construction.