photo ltr: Harmen de Kool (BOM), Ruud Vleugels (ENGIE), Mirjam Dragstra (BOM) and Eerke Hoven (Rabobank)
The Brabant Development Agency (BOM) and ENGIE have reached an agreement with Rabobank on the refinancing of the sustainable energy supply of Brainport Industries Campus (BIC). The so-called ESCo financing, which involves an amount of 11 million euros, is considered a breakthrough in the energy transition.
From electricity to climate control and from (demi)water to compressed air, vacuum, and process cooling: all these facilities at the BIC are completely sustainably generated. 5,500 solar panels and a heat pump installation ensure that the BIC does not need a gas connection. The facilities are provided by BIC Utility BV, a collaboration between developer, technology, and energy partner ENGIE Services South and the Brabant Development Agency (BOM). Rabobank Regio Eindhoven is now taking over the financing of the installation from BIC Utility BV.
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Sustainability in industry
“At the BIC, we have demonstrated that industrial real estate can be realized without gas,” says Harmen de Kool of the Brabant Development Agency, which participates in BIC Utility BV. “The key to this is the Energy Service Company (ESCo) responsible for the realization, financing, and operation of sustainable installations, such as solar panels.
We have the ambition to realize more of these types of industrial ESCos. For that upscaling, we need the financial clout of banks. Many banks are unfamiliar with ESCo financing. That is why we are very pleased with this collaboration. It is an excellent basis to set up more industrial ESCos for the sustainability of the industry together with banks.”
Netherlands' first gas-free campus: ‘A green building in a green environment’
On the BOM Reporting Portal, you will find a comprehensive article about the background of the ESCo construction and the collaboration between BIC, BOM, and Engie that has led to the first gas-free campus in the Netherlands.
The banker of the energy transition
Rabobank is also satisfied. Eerke Hoven, Director of Corporate Clients at Rabobank Regio Eindhoven: “Sustainable energy generation projects often work with innovative techniques and new forms of collaboration. As a result, it is difficult to accurately assess financial risks. The challenge is that there is no conventional collateral in these projects, and you are dealing with different parties. Rabobank's ambition is to be the banker of the energy transition. The key to this lies in good cooperation. And that is exactly what we are very good at in the Brainport region.”
Energy companies of the future
“Rabobank has taken a very close look at how BOM and we as ENGIE operate together,” says Ruud Vleugels from ENGIE. “They made pragmatic choices, and that is a great sign of trust, especially with this relatively rarely applied sustainable power plant. Rabobank has been open to our business case. I am really charmed by that. BOM and ENGIE have financed and built everything themselves and have proven that a sustainable power plant really works. It's great that a bank is now getting involved. This proves that we have a great model for the future and that we can initiate and build new projects. This fits perfectly with ENGIE's strategy to be a leader in sustainable change."