Singapore based Equator Renewables Asia has raised S$50 million, equivalent to about $39.3 million, to expand solar, green hydrogen, and sustainable industrial infrastructure projects in Indonesia.
The financing round was supported by strategic investors including Indonesia’s agribusiness conglomerate KPN Corporation and the Singapore based enterprise Tsao Pao Chee. Together they contributed S$30 million as cornerstone investors, while the remaining S$20 million was provided by the company’s chief executive officer Frank Phuan and the firm’s management team. The capital injection is intended to accelerate development of large scale renewable assets designed to serve both Indonesia’s domestic market and Singapore’s growing demand for imported clean electricity.
Equator Renewables Asia was established in 2025 by Phuan following the sale of Sunseap Group, the solar developer he co founded, to EDP Renewables. The new venture continues a strategy focused on renewable infrastructure in Southeast Asia, where electricity demand is rising quickly and coal remains a major component of the energy mix.
The company’s initial projects are centered on Indonesia, where land availability and renewable resources provide opportunities for large scale solar deployment. Equator Renewables Asia has secured conditional approval and a conditional import license from Singapore’s Energy Market Authority to export up to 400 megawatts of renewable electricity from Indonesia to Singapore. Cross border power imports are becoming a key element of Singapore’s decarbonization strategy, as the city state seeks to diversify its electricity supply with low carbon sources generated outside its limited domestic territory.
The investment also aligns with broader policy coordination between Singapore and Indonesia. In June 2025, the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a Sustainable Industrial Zone across the Batam, Bintan, and Karimun regions. The initiative is designed to create a regional hub for clean energy manufacturing, battery storage deployment, and logistics infrastructure that can support low carbon industrial activity. Such zones are intended to attract international investment while integrating renewable generation with energy intensive manufacturing sectors.
Equator Renewables Asia’s flagship project aims to support this emerging industrial ecosystem by linking renewable power production in Indonesia with demand from Singapore’s electricity market. The development strategy also connects to the broader vision of the ASEAN Power Grid, a regional initiative intended to strengthen cross border electricity interconnections across Southeast Asia.
The company’s project pipeline illustrates the scale of infrastructure required to support these ambitions. Its Indonesian portfolio includes solar photovoltaic projects totaling approximately 2.2 gigawatts peak capacity, alongside 3.2 gigawatt hours of battery energy storage systems designed to balance intermittent solar generation. In addition to power generation and storage assets, the company is also exploring green hydrogen production, reflecting growing interest in hydrogen as a potential energy carrier for industry and export markets.
Investors involved in the financing round are expected to contribute strategic capabilities beyond capital. Brian J. Chen, a director at KPN Corporation and a personal investor in the venture, will join the company’s board alongside Robin Pho, managing director for energy transition at Tsao Pao Chee. Their participation reflects an effort to integrate renewable energy development with broader industrial and land use strategies across Indonesia.
KPN’s involvement is particularly notable given the company’s large agribusiness footprint in Indonesia, which includes extensive land holdings. The group has indicated that portions of these landbanks could be repurposed for renewable infrastructure, including solar power plants, battery storage facilities, and green hydrogen production sites. Access to suitable land remains a major constraint for renewable energy deployment in many parts of Southeast Asia, making such partnerships potentially valuable for project development.
Tsao Pao Chee has framed its investment within a wider strategy focused on regenerative infrastructure and energy transition projects. The company’s approach spans renewable power generation, energy storage systems, industrial electrification, efficiency improvements, nature based solutions, and carbon market development. Integrating these elements reflects a growing recognition that decarbonization in emerging economies often requires coordinated investment across multiple sectors rather than isolated renewable projects.
For Singapore and Indonesia, the collaboration illustrates the economic and policy incentives driving regional energy integration. Singapore has set a national goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, while Indonesia has committed to reaching net zero by 2060. Meeting these targets will require significant expansion of renewable capacity, modernization of power infrastructure, and the creation of new industrial ecosystems that can operate on low carbon electricity.
