• Exclusive Content
  • Events
  • Endeavor Business Media Energy
    1. Distributed Energy

    PowerFlex secures $100 million investment from Manulife

    Dec. 15, 2022
    It adds that the investment will also allow the company to accelerate the installation of EV charging, storage and onsite solar to meet growing customer demand driven by individual state renewable portfolio standards and targets
    Innovation Drive Microgrid: 209-kW solar carport, 182-kW solar rooftop, 280-kW/538-kWh battery storage system, and 43 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations located at EDF Renewables’ headquarters in San Diego. Image credit PowerSecure
    Innovation Drive Microgrid: 209-kW solar carport, 182-kW solar rooftop, 280-kW/538-kWh battery storage system,
    and 43 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations located at EDF Renewables’ headquarters in San Diego. Image credit PowerSecure

    Distributed energy solutions provider PowerFlex has secured an investment of $100 million from financial services firm Manulife Investment Management.

    PowerFlex, a subsidiary of EDF Renewables North America, says it will use the proceeds to further invest in its proprietary line of software and hardware called PowerFlex X.

    It adds that the investment will also allow the company to accelerate the installation of EV charging, storage and onsite solar to meet growing customer demand driven by individual state renewable portfolio standards and targets, corporate sustainability commitments, and climate-friendly federal legislation, such as the Inflation Reduction Act. 

    “PowerFlex’s accompanying digital products optimize the system performance of all onsite energy assets to generate greater cost savings and increase efficiency,” Raphael Declercq, CEO of PowerFlex, said. “The investment will help advance our mission of electrifying the transportation sector and deploying low-carbon infrastructure in a way that also supports a cleaner, more decentralized and resilient grid.”

    Through this investment, Manulife has acquired a minority stake in PowerFlex and joined its board of directors. It has also acquired a portfolio of existing operating assets of PowerFlex to serve as the basis for a dedicated financing vehicle for future projects.

    “We are happy to partner with EDF Renewables and play a role in PowerFlex’s growth to help its customers achieve their sustainability and decarbonization goals,” said Pradeep Killamsetty, Managing Director, Infrastructure Investments, Manulife Investment Management.

    “We see a strong growth opportunity for PowerFlex’s intelligent solutions, which enable organizations and enterprises to reduce energy costs and increase resiliency by integrating and co-optimizing multiple technologies, including solar, battery storage, EV charging, and microgrid systems,” Killamsetty added.

    PowerFlex says it has installed more than 400-MW of commercial solar in the U.S. It has also deployed and operates approximately 10,000 intelligent EV charging solutions. EDF Renewables retains majority ownership of the company.

    Manulife Investment Management is the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial. 

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.