U.S.-based Energy Vault Holdings said on Thursday it has signed an exclusivity agreement for a $300 million preferred equity investment from a major infrastructure fund to launch “Asset Vault,” a subsidiary that will develop, build, own and operate energy storage assets worldwide.
The deal, expected to close within 30 to 60 days, subject to regulatory approvals, will support the company’s strategy as an independent power producer and speed the deployment of 1.5 gigawatts of battery storage projects in the United States, Australia and Europe.
Funding Structure and Shareholder Impact
The preferred equity will be non-dilutive to common shareholders and will include milestones for equity participation in Energy Vault’s listed entity to align shareholder interests, the company said. The capital is expected to enable more than $1 billion in capital expenditure on projects under development.
Energy Vault said it retains voting and operational control of Asset Vault, which will focus on projects supported by long-term offtake agreements or merchant market opportunities. The company will self-perform engineering, procurement and construction for the assets, generating additional revenue and margin for the parent group.
Operational and Contracted Assets
Asset Vault’s portfolio will include operational projects such as the Cross Trails BESS in Texas with a capacity of 57 megawatts and 114 megawatt-hours, and the Calistoga Resiliency Center in California with 8.5 MW and 293 MWh. Both are backed by long-term contracts and project-level financing.
It also includes the contracted Stoney Creek BESS in New South Wales, Australia, with 125 MW and 1 gigawatt-hour, which has up to a 14-year long-term energy service agreement with AEMO Services under the state’s Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.
The pipeline totals about 3 GW and more than 12 GWh of energy storage capacity, with U.S. projects benefiting from investment tax credits and targeting leveraged internal rates of return above 15 percent over a 20-year life.
Projected Earnings Growth
Energy Vault expects Asset Vault to generate more than $100 million in recurring annual EBITDA within three to four years. This will be in addition to earnings from its existing energy storage solutions business, which includes gravity-based storage, battery systems and green hydrogen technology.
“The $300 million investment and the creation of Asset Vault unlock the full potential of our ‘Own and Operate’ storage IPP strategy with immediate investment flexibility,” Chief Executive Robert Piconi said in a statement. “We are well positioned to scale resilient, mission-critical energy infrastructure to meet the current needs driven by renewable penetration and surging data center energy demand.”
Energy Vault, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, develops grid-scale energy storage systems and offers a technology-agnostic platform to optimize performance and costs for utilities and industrial customers.
