Dutch-based DIF Capital invests €150M, acquires majority stake in Sweden’s Alight

The Netherlands-based DIF Capital Partners, a global independent fund manager, announced on Wednesday that it has invested €150M in Stockholm-based Alight, a developer of subsidy-free solar projects in the Nordics.

The Dutch investor will purchase a majority stake through a secondary buyout of many current owners.

Capital utilisation

Alight says it will use the funds to accelerate the buildout of its near-term pipeline of solar projects. The company will develop projects, keep ownership of them, and support the shift to independent power production.

Alight claims to have created some of Sweden’s largest solar parks in addition to providing several onsite solar solutions. The company gained traction in the Nordic solar industry by supplying solar Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to significant commercial and industrial (C&I) power consumers. Alight will be able to expand its development of new solar projects in the Nordics and, more generally throughout Europe, through this financing.

Alight CEO, Dr Harald Overholm, says, “I am proud of Alight’s journey so far and this investment will accelerate our leadership in the subsidy-free solar build-out. Our delivery of Solar-as-a-Service to major power users makes us a natural partner to companies of all sizes and industries. We are excited to work closely with DIF on progressing the corporate transition to renewables; they share our vision for the industry and the urgency of our work to accelerate the energy transition.”

“Corporate power usage accounts for up to 70 per cent of global electricity consumption, so making a prompt and effective shift to renewable energy is crucial. Solar remains the cheapest and quickest energy source to scale, so building more to deliver energy security and reduce emissions is crucial,” adds Overholm.

Alight: Everything you need to know

Founded in 2013 by Dr Harald Overholm, Richard Nicolin and Wilhelm Lowenhielm, Alight is a Nordic solar developer and independent power producer. Its aim is to provide a new age of solar energy to companies looking to become green.

Alight builds and manages solar projects throughout Europe, both onshore and offsite, with a completely subsidy-free business model. The company plans to have at least 5GW of installed capacity using solar PPA contracts by 2030. 

It is now working on more than 1GW of PPA-based projects in Sweden, much of which will be built out within the next 24 months. And another 170 MW is being developed in other parts of Europe. Some of its clients include Swedbank, Nolato, Kingspan, and Toyota. 

Alight is also in charge of the Swedish market’s co-located battery storage roll-out, which is essential for guaranteeing that the grid can support the expansion of solar power. The company stated in October that a 12 MW solar park near Linköping will house Sweden’s largest co-located solar-plus-storage facility when it is finished in December. 

Constructed and run by Alight, a 18 MW asset created for Martin & Servera near Skurup is the largest operating solar park in Sweden. The organisation wants to incorporate co-location storage into current initiatives and make existing assets storage-ready.

In order to assist the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Alight joined the Global Compact in 2021.

Brief about DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners claims to be a leading independent investment manager with over €14B in AUM across 11 closed-end infrastructure funds and many co-investment vehicles. 

Through two complementary methods, DIF invests in infrastructure firms and assets principally in Europe, the Americas, and Australia:

• The most recent vintage of the traditional DIF funds, DIF Infrastructure VII, focuses on core infrastructure equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated revenue streams, such as public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and energy transition projects (including renewable energy).
• DIF CIF fund, of which DIF CIF III is the latest vintage, seeks equity investments in small to mid-sized core-plus infrastructure firms in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation industries.

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 200 people based in 11 offices in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto.