Green, decentralised, sustainable – 750 million US dollars for NeXtWind:
Berlin-based start-up becomes big player in building a sustainable energy market in Germany
It was only in 2020 that the energy start-up NeXtWind started with a financing of 100 million US dollars led by Crestline Investors, Inc. Now the Berlin-based company has already successfully completed its second financing round. The American specialist for growing pioneers in the renewable energy market Sandbrook Capital, together with the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) and institutional investor IMCO, is committing to invest up to 750 million US dollars in one of the most promising energy start-ups on the German market, NeXtWind. The company's goal: to rapidly expand the portfolio of currently ten wind farms in Northern and Eastern Germany, to drive the repowering of Germany's predominantly aged wind turbines and thus give new impetus to the energy transition in Germany.
NeXtWind is managed by the founders Lars B. Meyer, Werner Süss and Ewald Woste. The trio has worked closely together for six years and together look back on many decades of management experience in the energy sector, investment banking and local project work in the operations of wind power plants in municipalities. The NeXtWind team currently comprises 20 people with a wide range of experience and professional backgrounds. They are united by the drive to not only talk about the energy transition, but to actively shape it.
More speed for the energy transition
Lars B. Meyer says about the successful financing round: "I am very pleased that with Sandbrook Capital, PSP Investments and IMCO we were able to inspire three long-term investors for our vision of the energy transition. With the new investors, we can now accelerate the implementation of our business model: We will acquire and repower more wind power plants to achieve our goal of becoming a major sustainable power producer in Germany."
Werner Süss adds: "The repowering is the starting point. In addition, we are particularly concerned with the question of energy stability for Germany and how we can establish base load capability with renewable energies. We identify wind farms that are suitable for combination with photovoltaic systems as well as batteries for intermediate storage. We want to redefine classic energy supply – green, decentralised and sustainable."
Successfully shaping the energy transition in Germany is currently one of the greatest challenges for German politics. The advancing climate change makes the urgency of the energy transition abundantly clear. At the same time, Germany must ensure the security of its energy supply after the end of Russian gas supplies. The maintenance of existing wind energy capacities alone is a major effort: According to current figures from the consultancy Deutsche Windguard from 2022, Germany is the largest onshore wind market in Europe with an installed power generation capacity of around 58 gigawatts at the end of 2022. Around 30 percent of this capacity, around 13,000 wind turbines, have been in operation for 15 years or more and need to be replaced by newer and more efficient turbines.
Clear goal: to become a leading and reliable independent power producer
Ewald Woste says about the challenges of the energy transition: "The expansion of wind power has almost come to a standstill in recent years. It is good that politicians are now setting the course more consistently in the direction of renewable energies. Since our founding, we have proven that we are experts in the energy transition. Our corporate goal is clear: With innovative technological concepts, we want to become a leading and reliable renewable IPP in the German market. We move quickly and agilely to invest the fresh capital, because we have an important advantage: we are not carrying around any burdens from the fossil fuel era."
The investors
Sandbrook Capital is an investment company that builds companies to transform the world's energy infrastructure. Sandbrook is thus making an impressive contribution to the energy transition worldwide. The company was founded by five partners with decades of experience in the renewable energy sector. The headquarters of the driver of the global energy transition is Stamford, CT, USA. The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSPInvestments) is one of Canada’s largest pension investors with C$ 243.7 billion of net assets under management as of March 31, 2023. It manages and invests amounts transferred to it by the Government of Canada for the pension plans of the federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. Headquartered in Ottawa, PSP Investments has its principal business office in Montréal. The Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (“IMCO”) is also a Canadian institutional investor that manages $73.3 billion in assets and invests for the long term on behalf of its public sector clients. As one of Canada's major institutional investors, IMCO invests globally with a particular focus on sustainability. The pension fund is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
Crestline Investors, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in Fort Worth, Texas. It is a global institutional investment management firm with $16.6 billion in assets under management. Based in London, Crestline Europe LLP specializes in direct equity investments in resilient industrial sectors in developed markets in Europe that are either asset backed or have a defensive cash flow profile.
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Further information
NeXtWind Management GmbH
c/o Bernstein Group
Ralf Kunkel
Neustädtische Kirchstraße 6, 10117 Berlin
M +49 (0)170 7839570
E kunkel@bernstein-group.com, W www.bernstein-group.com