Statera Energy, the UK-based energy storage and flexible generation developer and operator, has secured a total of £395 million of debt financing for its Thurrock Flexible Generation project.
The project comprises Thurrock Storage, a 300MW (600MWh) battery energy storage system, and Thurrock Power, a 450MW flexible generation project. The financing is provided through a syndicate of six global energy and infrastructure finance banks.
Statera secured £144 million of debt financing in November 2023, which has supported the delivery of Statera’s Thurrock Storage project. An additional £251 million has now been secured, which will finance the construction of the 450MW flexible generation project, Thurrock Power. The additional funds take the total debt platform for Thurrock Flexible Generation to £395 million.
Lloyds acted as the Structuring Bank for the debt financing alongside Mandated Lead Arrangers Natixis, NatWest, Santander, SEB, and Siemens Financial Services through Siemens Bank. The syndicate is providing a term loan, VAT facility, and liquidity facility.
Statkraft, a leading provider of market access and optimisation services and Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy, provides a route to market for the project. This builds on Statera and Statkraft’s strategic partnership of over 1GW of contracted capacity.
Thurrock Storage is on track to be energised before the end of the year, marking a key milestone in the project, with the project scheduled to commence operation and start delivering electricity to the grid from early 2025. Once energised, Thurrock Storage will be the largest operational BESS site in the UK, providing three times the energy storage capacity of the next largest project in the UK.
Enabling works for the construction of Thurrock Power began in Autumn 2024. Once operational, the project will provide sustained delivery of energy over short periods when renewable generation is either low, intermittent, or not delivering in line with forecasts.
Statera’s CEO and Founder, Tom Vernon said:
The scale of this financing represents a significant milestone for Statera. Once operational these will be the largest battery and flexible generation projects in the UK, at 600MWh and 450MW respectively. I would like to thank our funding partners; Lloyds, Natixis, NatWest, Santander, SEB and Siemens Financial Services, as well as our optimisation partner Statkraft, for their continued support. Thurrock Power and Thurrock Storage will provide the critical grid balancing capacity required to support the UK’s transition to a renewable led energy system.
Managing Director, Global Head of Infrastructure and Project Finance at Lloyds, James Taylor, said:
As the UK moves towards its 2050 net zero target, flexible generation solutions are essential for maintaining a safe and stable electricity supply for households and businesses. We’re proud to support Statera with the financing across both stages of this project, enabling the business to grow while it continues developing technologies that will underpin the country’s sustainable energy transition.
Global Head of Infrastructure & Energy Finance at Natixis, Antoine Saint Olive, said:
Natixis CIB is excited to support Statera in its path towards development of flexible power generation systems in the UK. Thurrock Storage and Thurrock Power are important assets supporting UK’s decarbonisation objective and the financing of those is completely aligned with Natixis CIB’s strategy. We trust this will act as a foundation for a long-term relationship and to support them for further opportunities.
Director, Specialist Asset & Project Finance at NatWest, Olivia Satturley, said:
NatWest is delighted to continue its support for Statera’s growth through the debt financing of the Thurrock projects, having been a long-term banking partner since inception across all of their debt facilities to date. Financing assets such as Thurrock Storage and Thurrock Power remains critical for the UK in enabling greater flexibility and resilience to the UK grid, and highlights our commitment to assist the UK’s renewable energy transition.
Director of Specialised and Project Finance at Santander UK, Jonathan Corcoran, said:
We are pleased to be supporting Statera Energy with its latest project as the business continues to grow. The Thurrock Storage project is a perfect example of how we help businesses thrive and we look forward to continuing working together in the future.
Director, SEB Project & Infrastructure Finance at SEB, Tara Patel, said:
SEB are delighted to have supported Statera on the Thurrock project. We look forward to continuing to work with the business as it develops its exciting pipeline of projects that are essential to the UK’s grid balancing and decarbonization plans.
Statera Energy was founded in 2016 to help the UK make the transformational shift to a renewable led energy system by providing flexible storage solutions that help to balance energy supply.
Today, Statera has over 1GW of UK projects operational or in construction, and over 16GW in development or consented. With £700 million invested to date and up to £7 billion planned by 2030, it is strengthening UK energy security and supporting the low-carbon transition.