Italy based power and gas company A2A and private investment house Ardian have signed a non-binding term-sheet, which details out the main terms of a partnership in energy generation and supply in Italy. With this partnership, both the parties are planning to establish what they call the second largest Italian platform focused on energy transition, and one of the largest electricity producers and suppliers in Italy, with a clear decarbonisation strategy. This is in line with the objectives set by the Italian PNIEC and the Paris Agreement.
As part of the partnership, a new company will be formed, in which Ardian will hold 45% of the stake, and invest up to €1.5 billion. While A2A, which will hold remaining stake of the new company, will contribute assets worth €3 billion, wherein it will transfer to the new company its hydrogen, wind and solar power plants alongside its energy supply business and storage assets.
Speaking about the partnership, CEO of A2A Renato Mazzoncini said, "The agreement with Ardian would make it possible for A2A to accelerate by several years reaching the growth objectives in renewable generation foreseen by the Industrial Plan, combining financial resources with industrial assets."
Expressing similar sentiments, Head of Ardian Infrastructure and member of the Executive Committee Mathias Burghardt said, "A2A is a leading industrial player and a frontrunner in the Italian market with regards to energy transition. We are delighted to partner with A2A and to bring our 15-year long renewable expertise in Italy, which will help A2A to deliver on its ambitions and together develop a leading renewables platform in Italy."
The partnership builds on the partnership signed by both the companies in November 2020, which would allow them to jointly explore opportunities in green hydrogen.
In December 2019, A2A announced to push itself further into the solar space with an agreement to acquire a project development pipeline of close to 1 GW capacity in partnership with Chinese PV module supplier Talesun through its subsidiary A2A Rinnovabili (see A2A & Talesun Join Hands For 1 GW Solar In Italy).