Singapore-based energy-as-a-service (EaaS) infrastructure platform August Energy has signed a USD 100 million partnership with Indian energy efficiency firm Energeia to fund and deploy energy efficiency projects across India. The partnership will provide Cooling-as-a-Service (CaaS) solutions to commercial and industrial (C&I) customers.
The partnership, named August Energeia, aims to address the upfront capital requirements that have limited the adoption of energy efficiency and decarbonisation solutions among Indian businesses.
Under the partnership, August Energy will contribute institutional capital, techno-commercial structuring and business development capabilities, while Energeia will provide energy auditing, engineering execution, technology and on-ground sales expertise.
August Energeia will operate as a dedicated infrastructure platform, bringing together capital from European, Japanese and Asian institutional investors, including Aravest, Green Tower, Proparco, responsAbility and Aseem.
Energeia will support project development through its IoT-enabled energy audit capabilities and AI-enabled digital platform for managing energy efficiency projects.
Through the Energy-as-a-Service model, factories and commercial buildings will be able to upgrade energy-intensive infrastructure without making the upfront capital investment.
The platform will finance, implement and manage projects covering cooling, heating, steam, compressed air, fuel switching and motor-driven systems, alongside renewable energy deployment involving solar, wind and energy storage.
Project economics will be linked to the performance and energy savings delivered, allowing customers to shift energy infrastructure investments from traditional capital expenditure to a performance-linked operating expenditure model.
The model is intended to enable businesses to preserve capital for core operations while reducing energy costs and emissions.
August Energeia plans to target energy-intensive sectors including pharmaceuticals, automotive, food and beverage, chemicals, cement, steel, hospitality, healthcare, data centres, REITs and commercial real estate.
The partnership aims to aggregate distributed energy efficiency projects and develop them into a scalable infrastructure investment opportunity for institutional capital.
Sookrit Malik, Co-Founder and CEO, Energeia, said the partnership would address barriers such as high upfront costs, uncertainty around energy savings and procurement requirements by shifting projects from high-risk CAPEX to predictable, performance-linked OPEX.
Vishal Jain, Co-founder and Head of India, August Energy, said the partnership aims to enable businesses to improve energy efficiency and resilience without diverting capital away from core growth activities.
The partners said the combination of institutional capital, infrastructure ownership, project execution and ongoing energy management could turn energy savings into a bankable and repeatable revenue stream.
The USD 100 million target is also expected to support the development of energy efficiency and distributed energy infrastructure as an investable asset class in India.
The concept may enable companies to evaluate energy-efficient solutions based on lifespan energy performance and total cost of ownership instead of initial purchase price by eliminating upfront capital requirements.
In addition to giving C&I clients a chance to save operating costs and decarbonize their facilities, August Energy and Energeia want to expand the installation of energy-efficient infrastructure throughout India.
Electrify your feed! Click here to join our Whatsapp group and to get the latest updates, expert insights, and innovations driving India’s energy storage revolution.
