Field was launched in 2021 by Amit Gudka (pictured) after he stepped down from energy supplier Bulb. Image: Field.
Battery energy storage company Field has secured £77 million in funding as it looks to continue the rapid expansion of its portfolio.
This is made up of £30 million of equity funding from early-stage investor Plural, which itself is being launched today (28 June) by founders Taavet Hinrikus, Sten Tamkivi, Ian Hogarth and Khaled Helioui.
The remaining £47 million comes as a debt facility secured from Triple Point Energy Investment Company (TEEC).
Additional participation in the fundraising came from Local Globe, which has an investment portfolio including Wise, Zoopla, M-Kopa, InFarm and Citymapper.
The terms of the debt funding from TEEC include an ESG ratchet that will see Field pay a reduced interest rate proportionate to the carbon emission savings generated by its portfolio of battery assets. This structure is unique in the battery storage sector in the UK according to the companies.
“We chose to invest in Field not only due to the attractive opportunities in UK energy storage and the strength of its management team, but also Field’s commitment to market-leading sustainable practices, as it drives forward both the procurement and operation of the battery storage assets,” said Jonathan Hick, investment director at TEEC.
“We believe TEEC’s debt financing offer to energy storage is unique, provided over an approximate 18-year period and without an upfront requirement to put in place a contractual floor price with an offtaker.”
As part of the new funding, Field and TEEC have agreed to work on a further pipeline of over 400MWh of battery storage projects. This builds on TEEC’s £45.6 million investment into Field in April 2022, which saw the companies announce plans to construct a 110MW portfolio of storage assets.
The £77 million funding will allow Field to rapidly build battery sites across the UK, targeting 1.3GWh of operational assets across by 2024. As of April 2022, its total pipeline was 775MW/1,510MWh following a slew of acquisitions.
Since the company was launched in early 2021 by Amit Gudka – one of the founders of energy suppliers Bulb – it has acquired 110MW of storage capacity, including Oldham (20MW), Gerrards Cross (20MW), Auchterawe (50MW) and Newport (20MW).
The company – which was initially called Virmati Energy – will use its own proprietary platform to manage all the battery assets, trading energy into a number of markets.
“With this additional funding we can double down on the huge progress we’ve already made towards financing, building, operating and monetising the energy infrastructure that will solve intermittency and get us to net zero,” said Gudka, CEO and founder of Field.
“Starting by building the assets on the sites we’ve already acquired, we’re now hitting the ground running towards our ambition to get 1.3GWh of battery storage connected to the grid in the next two years. It’s a massively exciting time for Field and for the sector and we’re looking forward to moving into our next stage.”