Guarantee holder: Financing of the construction of a 50 MWp photovoltaic (PV) plant with a hybrid storage system with batteries and hydrogen in French Guiana.

Description: The project will demonstrate the application of an innovative hybrid system comprising of batteries and hydrogen for the supply of dispatchable renewable energy. This solution is targeting, as primary markets, islands and other non-interconnected regions where the energy supply is based on expensive fossil fuel generation. The project will contribute to the EIB's priority objectives for energy sector lending related to renewable energy sources and transversal objectives of climate action as well as social cohesion.

The deal is the first project financing for large-scale solar hybrid incorporating green hydrogen. A source close to the deal notes that the €171 million project is backed by a €105 million project financing, provided by SMBC, BNP Paribas, CIC, Bpifrance, the EIB, and the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD). The project received subsidies of €36 million, meaning that the project cost is closer to €135 million in real terms and that the project has a debt-to-equity ratio of around 78:22. The financing has a tenor of around twenty years, although the debt provided by the EIB has a tenor of more than twenty years, which allowed the sponsors to accept a lower tariff for the project. Allen & Overy is legal adviser to the EIB, Linklaters is counsel to the lenders, and Wilkie Farr & Gallagher is providing sponsor counsel.