At the end of 2020, French company Mirova was part of the consortium led by Engie that bought six dams in the Douro basin from EDP for 2.2 billion euros.
The Portuguese Competition Authority announced on Wednesday that it had been notified of a merger operation consisting of the acquisition of exclusive control of Hyperion Energy Elvas by Portugal’s Hyperion Energy Investments.
The company to be bought is 90% controlled by Midgard, which in turn is controlled by the French company Mirova, which at the end of 2020 was part of the consortium led by Engie that bought six dams in the Douro basin from EDP for 2.2 billion euros.
According to the Competition Authority, the company to be acquired developed and holds the operating rights for the 25 MW solar photovoltaic power plant in the municipality of Évora, called “Évora 25 Project”.
In practice, this is the return of the solar project in Alentejo, which began operating in 2019, to Hyperion’s hands, after in 2018 the Portuguese company signed an agreement with Mirova to take 90% of the plant, a position it still holds today. Hyperion holds the remaining 10%.
In Portugal, Mirova also has a minority stake in the consortium it acquired in 2020, which includes a portfolio of EDP Group hydroelectric companies, through the MET4 fund.
Hyperion Energy Investments is a company jointly controlled by the closed-ended venture capital fund Helios, managed by LYNX Asset Managers, and also by Mirova Energy Transition 5. Hyperion “is active in the production of electricity and the development of renewable energy projects, including the provision of consultancy services to third parties (namely co-development contracts and management of engineering, procurement and construction processes), with activities in the Iberian Peninsula and a growing presence in Central and Eastern European countries,” the PCA states.
Founded in 2006, Hyperion has focused mainly on solar energy and is now expanding its business to green hydrogen. In November it announced that Mirova had become a shareholder through a 140 million euro capital increase, with a view to accelerating the company’s expansion to become an independent electricity producer.
“This capital injection will boost the initial deployment of the 3.4 GW (gigawatts) in Hyperion’s current pipeline, made up of photovoltaic, wind, storage and green hydrogen projects, mainly in Portugal,” Hyperion said in a statement. The company has already developed around 50 projects and connected 270 MW to the grid in Portugal. In addition to its own parks, Hyperion also manages third-party assets, with a portfolio of 600 MW.