SEF Weekly: EDF lawsuit and Gazprom Energy rebranding

This edition of Smart Energy Finance (SEF) Weekly sees companies across Europe dealing with the energy and bills crisis that have been plaguing the continent as a result of the war in Ukraine.

In particular, the majorly state-owned Électricité de France (EDF) has announced a lawsuit against its government and Gazprom Energy has changed its name to SEFE in an effort to distance itself from Russian sanctions and become a key market player again.

EDF sues French government for €8.3bn

EDF is suing the French government for €8.3bn ($8.6bn) after being forced to sell energy to consumers at a loss.

The French nuclear company stated in a release on August 9, 2022, that a legal claim was filed in light of the losses incurred due to increased price caps.

The claim was filed with the Conseil d’Etat (the French administrative supreme court), as well as a claim for indemnification for €8.34 billion euros, with the French State.

The Guardian reports that EDF – which is being nationalised by the French state – was being forced by Emmanuel Macron’s government to sell more power to rivals at prices below the market rates, in light of the current cost of living crisis.

According to EDF, the losses so far have totalled €8.3bn to date, implying that the measure could cost the company more than €15bn ($15.5bn) over the course of the year.

EDF is 84% owned by the French government and last month officials revealed plans to buy the remaining 16% for €12 ($12.34) a share, working out at an estimated total of €9.7bn ($10bn).

The government’s nationalisation ambitions come in the hopes of securing the country’s energy supplies in the wake of the effect of the war in Ukraine as European countries scramble to seek alternatives to Russian commodities.

Gazprom Energy: SEFE rebranding amid German solvency injection

Gazprom Energy has officially changed its name to SEFE Energy Limited as the company becomes part of the newly named SEFE Group in Berlin, Germany. The name change comes in as part of a German bailout of the company.

In June, the German federal government stated they will secure the company’s fiduciary management for an exceeded term past September 2022.

They also announced a grant of €9.8bn ($10bn) for the company, which had been poorly affected by sanctions imposed from Russia; a loan to protect it from insolvency.

The move is hoped to sustain the government’s influence over this part of the critical energy infrastructure and prevent energy security from being jeopardised.

With the loan from the KfW bank, the money will serve to secure liquidity and procure replacement gas.

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According to a statement, the loan will be ‘ring-fenced’ to ensure that it can only be used for business operations while maintaining gas supply and preventing flow to Russia.

The name change reportedly serves as a signal to the market to secure the energy supply in Germany and Europe.

SEFE’s business areas currently include energy trading, gas transport and the operation of gas storage facilities.

Additionally, in June, Dr Egbert Laege was appointed as SEFE managing director by the Bundesnetzagentur (BNetzA), Germany’s Federal Network Agency, after it became the Company’s trustee in April 2022.

Also in Germany, Siemens makes the rounds with a majority investment in WiTricity for Siemens AG and the successful close of Siemens Smart Infastructure’s (SI’s) acquisition of Brightly.

Siemens AG anchors WiTricity

Anchored by a $25 million investment from Siemens AG, WiTricity has completed a funding round of $63 million.

The round also includes investments from Japan Energy Fund, Mirae Asset Capital, and returning investors Stage One, Airwaves Wireless Electricity, and Delta Electronics among others.

WiTricity CEO Alex Gruen stated how the capital will be used to advance wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging and develop new vehicle to grid (V2G) capabilities.

Siemens SI closes Brightly

Siemens Smart Infrastructure (SI) completed the acquisition of Brightly Software, a US based software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider of asset and maintenance management solutions.

The acquisition is hoped to bolsters SI’s position in the software market for buildings and built infrastructure.

The acquisition signing  was announced on June 27 this year. Following the announcement, Siemens launched Siemens Xcelerator, an open digital business platform, to accelerate digital transformation and value creation for customers of all sizes in industry, buildings, grids and mobility.

Brightly, a Siemens company, is now part of Siemens SI, reporting to its CEO.

In other parts of Europe, the European Investment Bank has recently announced sweeping investments with the aim of driving decarbonisation.

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EIB in Austria

The EIB and UniCredit Bank Austria have announced their support for investments in small and medium-sized renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Austria.

The EIB will make a framework loan of up to €92m ($94.8m) available to the Austrian bank, which will then create a credit portfolio of up to €200m ($206m) for financing clean energy projects.

The Austrian government aims to generate 100% of electricity from wind, solar and hydropower by 2030. These goals have created a high demand for new, climate-friendly energy projects in Austria.

This has caused a certain lack of competitively priced long-term financing sources being available for smaller and medium-sized renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

With this financial support, the EIB aims to fill this market gap together with partner banks and other financial intermediaries. To this end, last year the EU bank provided a climate action programme loan to Austria. This framework loan is the first sub-operation within this EIB programme.

EIB in the Netherlands

The EIB has signed a €50mn ($51.5mn) loan agreement with Collé Rental & Sales. The Sittard-based company will use the financing for the further electrification of its rental fleet of specialised machinery for the construction sector and industry in the Netherlands.

The EIB investment will be guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.

For Collé, the financing is part of its fleet replacement initiative, with a focus on investment in electric (where possible) and more fuel-efficient machinery, in order to actively contribute to sustainability targets.

The company cites lower emissions, noise reduction and less pollution (due to a reduction in the use of oil and lubricants) as the main drivers for their shift into electrification.

Collé specialises in aerial lifts, ground-moving equipment and material-handling machinery.

It will use the EIB financing to invest in electrification and digitalisation, making its fleet internet of things (IoT)-capable.