Allianz Capital Partners (ACP), a subsidiary of Allianz Global Investors and Allianz insurance companies (Allianz), a German-based investor in renewable energy and infrastructure, has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a minority stake in Nordic Ren-Gas Oy, a Finnish project developer for green hydrogen and power-to-gas (PtG) projects (Ren-Gas).
Ren-Gas, a pioneering Nordic PtG project developer founded in 2021, aims to build a decentralized power-to-gas (PtG) portfolio, starting in Finland and maybe expanding to other parts of Europe.
Ren-Gas will receive EUR 25 million in investment from Allianz to support the execution of its project portfolio and grow the company’s business.
Additionally, Allianz will take a minority ownership stake in Ren-Gas with an investment framework already in place.
Since 2016, Allianz has invested in Finland through its ownership of various wind farms and the electricity distribution firm Elenia. Ren-Gas has a lot of promise, and we see it as a fantastic opportunity to develop environmentally friendly transport and energy solutions for Finland and beyond. We were impressed by the Ren-Gas team’s industry expertise, operational experience, and commitment, and they were able to develop a solid and concrete pipeline of energy transition projects that we are eager to support going forward, according to Igor Lukin, Senior Portfolio Manager at Allianz Capital Partners.
Synthetic natural gas (SNG), which is created from green hydrogen and collected carbon dioxide, is the primary byproduct of Ren-Gas plants (CO2).
Ren-Gas will electrolyze clean hydrogen using renewable energy from nearby wind farms. The captured biogenic CO2 from district heating plants that mostly use renewable fuels is then combined with the green hydrogen through a second methanation process, and extra process heat is returned to the district heating network.
Due to the chemical similarities between synthetic renewable methane and renewable natural gas (RNG), which is a form of fossil gas known as biomethane, the gas can be utilized as fuel for heavy-duty vehicles, ships, and other industrial applications.
In conclusion, the procedure produces renewable methane from water, wind energy, and CO2 that has been captured.
This marks a key turning point in our dedication to funding initiatives that advance the energy transition, in our opinion. According to Michael Pfennig, Co-Head of Infrastructure at Allianz Capital Partners, “Ren-Gas is our second direct infrastructure investment in Finland and our first direct investment into green hydrogen, underscoring Allianz’s effort to support the decarbonization process through real infrastructure projects.”
The company’s approach of creating green PtG plants in combination with already-existing power plants and district heating systems, efficiently using the value of sector coupling, is said to be its major strength, according to Allianz.
This sector integration strategy will help to provide greater energy security, competitive prices for renewable gas and heat, as well as considerable emission cuts in the heavy-duty transportation and heating industries.
According to Michael Pfennig, we applaud Ren-Gas’ creative strategy for creating green power-to-gas facilities in combination with already-existing power plants and district heating systems and efficiently using the benefits of sector coupling.
With five industrial-scale projects being developed in conjunction with regional Finnish energy utilities, Ren-Gas has already solidified a position in the quickly growing green hydrogen industry.
When developing its commercial relationships with utility partners and other stakeholders, Ren-Gas has placed a strong emphasis on an analytical, open, and value-based approach. Ren-Gas has been able to build a portfolio of well-organized, financeable hydrogen and power-to-gas projects because to this strategy. We are overjoyed that Allianz, one of the top asset managers and insurers in the world, sees the value of the Ren-Gas method to project development and joins forces with us to assist the creation of our hydrogen projects all the way to completion. Saara Kujala, CEO of Nordic Ren-Gas, stated, “I am certain that Allianz will provide a firm foundation for us to develop and finance our initiatives and move our special team ahead.”
