The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a direct equity investment of up to 16.8 million euros in IE-Energy Projekt, a newly established joint-stock company developing a greenfield battery energy storage system (BESS) and a virtual power plant (VPP) in Šibenik, Croatia.
The investment was approved under the EBRD Direct Finance Framework – non-SME. The project also includes an equal equity investment of 16.8 million euros from Raiffeisen Mandatory and Voluntary Pension Funds, a major Croatian institutional investor, and a 16.5-million-euro capital expenditure grant from the EU Modernisation Fund.
The project will include 60 megawatts of grid-connected battery storage and a VPP platform to balance electricity supply and demand in real time. It will enhance the flexibility of Croatia’s power grid and facilitate the integration of more renewable energy sources, including solar and wind.
The EBRD has invested over 5 billion euros in 273 projects in Croatia, focusing on reforms and the modernisation of public-sector enterprises.