Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest bank by assets and parent company of Stanbic Bank Ghana, has announced the successful close of a bespoke R1.92 billion ($110 million) equity financing solution for H1 Holdings (H1), a leading Black-owned infrastructure investment and development company.

The funding solution, structured and executed by Standard Bank Corporate Investment Banking, was designed to facilitate the exit of an investment provided by British International Investment (BII), Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Norfund.

The proceeds are underpinned by H1’s 49% interest in the Kenhardt hybrid battery and solar risk mitigation projects, which collectively represent Africa’s largest hybrid renewable energy cluster and rank among the world’s largest.

“The transaction demonstrates our role in structuring complex equity financing solutions that aim to support infrastructure development and deliver value to stakeholders,” said Calvin Alwar, Deal Lead, Structured Capital at Standard Bank.

“We are proud to have partnered with H1 Holdings on this and look forward to collaborating further on this transformative project as they continue to shape the future of energy in Africa,” said Alwar.

Hybrid systems integrate multiple energy sources to compensate for the variability of each, presenting not only the environmental benefit of lowering carbon emissions but also reducing the risk of outages as energy is produced through more than one source.

They do, however, require advanced control systems to manage different inputs, which are contributing factors to the cost of these projects.

The transaction required a fundamental shift in how renewable energy equity finance deals are structured, particularly given the high gearing levels and the limited window of bankability.

H1 Holdings, with a purpose to improve the quality of lives by producing cleaner energy, is a 100% Black-owned infrastructure investment and development company with a strong track record in the energy sector.

Among other assets, the company has built a portfolio of 24 projects totalling approximately 2.8 GW of generation capacity and 1.14 GWh of storage capacity.

“We are thrilled to partner with Standard Bank on this milestone transaction,” said Jonathan Muller, Head of Asset Management at H1 Holdings.

“Their expertise in the energy sector, innovative approach to structuring, and unwavering commitment to our objectives enabled a novel technical solution that made this deal possible.

"Kenhardt is a flagship project for us, and this financing solution ensures we can continue to deliver sustainable energy solutions at scale,” concluded Muller.