Top row (left to right) Nik Mehta, British High Commissioner to Singapore and Srini Nagarajan, Managing Director and Head of Asia at British International Investment
Bottom row (left to right) Marat Zapparov, CEO at Pentagreen Capital; David Ludwig, CEO at ib vogt APAC and Rohit Anand, Head of Infrastructure Equity, Asia at British International Investment
Singapore, 26 March 2025 – Pentagreen Capital (“Pentagreen”) and British International Investment (“BII”) today announced a joint financing of US$80 million to accelerate the rollout of utility-scale solar and battery storage projects across Southeast Asia in collaboration with leading international renewable energy development platform ib vogt Singapore Pte. Ltd. (“ib vogt”).
Pentagreen is the sustainable infrastructure debt financing platform established by HSBC and Temasek in 2021. BII is the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor.
The joint US$80 million Development and Construction Facility (“the Facility”) will finance the development and construction of solar, hybrid solar, and battery storage projects in the Philippines, Indonesia, and other eligible geographies in Southeast Asia. The Facility seeks to initially unlock the implementation of approximately US$300 million of projects with a total capacity of circa 260 megawatt peak (MWp) of power generation capacity and circa 175 megawatt hours (MWh) battery storage.
The first project to be supported by the Facility is a circa 100 MWp solar power project in the Philippines. The Facility will provide crucial mezzanine financing enabling the project to progress swiftly into construction, bridging a key funding gap in the project’s capital stack and supporting the parallel deployment of senior debt from HSBC to the project.
According to the International Energy Agency, electricity demand in Southeast Asia is set to grow at an annual rate of 4% to 2035. Clean energy sources such as wind and solar, alongside modern bioenergy and geothermal power, are projected to meet more than a third of this growth in energy demand in the region by 2035. Southeast Asia needs to boost clean energy investments to US$190 billion by 2035 to achieve its climate goal, a fivefold increase from its current levels.
Utility-scale hybrid solar is key to providing an affordable, stable and reliable supply of clean power at a large scale. The battery storage systems enable a firm supply of solar energy, including times when there is no generation due to weather conditions or during the night. This enhances grid stability, especially for remote or under-electrified areas.
The initial projects will add a combined 400 gigawatt hours (GWh) of clean electricity supply annually, resulting in an estimated 257,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions avoided.
British High Commissioner to Singapore, Nik Mehta, said, “The UK is committed to mobilising the capital and partnerships needed for a more prosperous, low-carbon future. We are proud to support this transformative clean energy initiative through British International Investment, which will drive sustainable growth, create jobs, and unlock new market opportunities in the region.”
Marat Zapparov, CEO of Pentagreen Capital said, “We are delighted to join hands with ib vogt and British International Investment to provide capital for the scale up of clean energy investments in Southeast Asia. This landmark partnership demonstrates that innovative financing has a significant role to play in catalysing capital to critical renewable infrastructure such as utility-scale solar and battery storage projects. Indonesia and the Philippines have been identified as the initial markets for this financing due to their strong renewable energy potential, supportive regulatory environments and growing demand for clean power. This is the kind of catalytic capital required to accelerate the construction of sustainable, competitive and secure energy infrastructure in the region.”
Rohit Anand, Regional Head (Southeast Asia) and Head of Infrastructure Equity, Asia at British International Investment said, “We’re excited to announce this new partnership with Pentagreen and ib vogt which will support the acceleration of clean energy access in Southeast Asia. This collaboration underscores our strong commitment to enhancing climate finance and mobilising more capital towards sustainable development in the region, particularly in high-need markets like the Philippines and Indonesia."
David Ludwig, CEO of ib vogt APAC said, “We are thrilled to partner with Pentagreen and BII to unlock the next stage of our growth in Southeast Asia. Our team is deeply passionate about accelerating the energy transition and firmly believes that the significant financing volumes required for this region will increasingly depend on innovative solutions like this facility. This partnership marks a crucial step towards implementing our growing pipeline of late-stage projects in the coming years.”
ib vogt Singapore is proudly qualified as a 2X Investment in 2025 under the 2X Challenge, of which BII is a founding member. This is in recognition of ib vogt Singapore’s gender balance across the platform’s personnel, including senior leadership.
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