- Renewed support from historical shareholders Bpifrance and Groupe Crédit Agricole to the Technique Solaire Group, with a €200 million fundraising – Founders remain majority shareholders.
- A €4 billion investment plan over the period 2024 – 2030, with development of energy storage services.
- A goal of 4 GWp of photovoltaic power generation capacity by 2030 (compared with 450 MWp currently).
- Acceleration of international ambitions with the acquisition of a portfolio of 5 photovoltaic assets in India with a capacity of 135 MWp.
- Sharing value creation with employees: distribution of over 6 million euros through BSPCE, a French vesting scheme.
The Technique Solaire Group, a French independent producer of renewable energies committed to the agricultural transition, announces that it has raised 200 million euros from its historical financial shareholders, Bpifrance and Crédit Agricole group1, via its holding company JLT Invest. Its three co-founders (Julien Fleury, Lionel Themine, and Thomas de Moussac) retain a large majority of the capital.
This funding round aims to support the Technique Solaire Group in its ambition to become a world-class energy company. It will enable the group to accelerate its growth in the energy production activity, intensify innovation strategy, and strengthen international presence.
For this third round of fundraising, historical shareholders, Bpifrance and the Crédit Agricole Group, through several entities have renewed their confidence in Technique Solaire’s development strategy. The three partners continue to share a common vision of sustainable growth and regional development.
1 The pool of investors of the Crédit Agricole group is detailed in the “Key stakeholders of the financial operation” section.
Accelerating the energy and agricultural transitions
The Technique Solaire Group was founded in 2008 in Poitiers, France, by three entrepreneurs dedicated to making a long-term commitment to boost both the energy and the agricultural transitions. Over the last 15 years, this founding team has been leading the Group’s development.
The Group produces economical renewable energy by deploying solar photovoltaic and biogas infrastructures. It operates more than 450 MWp of photovoltaic energy in various types of installations: new buildings, rooftops, carports, ground-mounted solar installations, etc.
With almost 45 % (200 MWp) of its solar assets operated on farms and a patented aviary solution, Technique Solaire is a major player in agrivoltaics for crops and livestock farms. In addition to generating renewable energy, this type of project provides farmers with modernized working tools, enabling them to better adapt to climatic hazards and improving animal welfare.
The Group set up its subsidiary Technique Biogaz in 2014 and operates 3 biogas plants in France with a capacity of over 330 Nm3/h from methane production. This biological process generates a 100% renewable green gas and makes better use of agricultural waste.
After a 4-fold increase in sales since 2019, the Group made over 200 million euros in revenue in 20232. It has been profitable since its first year. Headquartered in Poitiers, with offices in Paris, Bordeaux, and Lyon, it employs nearly 200 people. The group is also present in India, the Netherlands, and Spain.
2 Based on the revenue from the first ten months and the current contracts.
Fundraising to support Technique Solaire’s long-term vision
The Group intends to mobilize €4 billion by 2030, three quarters of which will be invested in France. The growth strategy will combine organic development and targeted acquisitions.
The Group’s investments will be based on three strategic pillars
- Accelerating the production of renewable energy, photovoltaic solar energy, and biogas (avoiding 5 million tons of CO² emissions by 2030):
o 9-fold increase in installed photovoltaic capacity to 4 GWp, with a pipeline of over 2 GWp already secured.
o 15-fold increase in biomethane production to 4,900 Nm3/h, with more than 20 units under development. - Developing innovative activities: energy storage and intelligent energy management.
- Pursuing the Group’s international expansion by strengthening its presence in India, the Netherlands, and Spain, and setting up operations in new geographies.
A major acquisition strengthening capabilities in India
The Technique Solaire Group, established in India since 2014, has significantly strengthened its presence with a major acquisition from ReNew, one of the major independent power producer in India. The acquisition comprises of a portfolio of 5 operating photovoltaic assets located in the state of Karnataka, with an installed capacity of 135.4 MWp. This portfolio produces 215 GWh per year, the equivalent of the local consumption of 922,000 inhabitants3.
3 Inferred from IEA data
Growth and value-sharing
To achieve its ambition, the Technique Solaire Group intends to double its workforce by recruiting more than 200 talents by 2030. Operating across the entire value chain, from the conception and development to the operation of power plants, the group will seek varied profiles of engineers, salespeople, plant managers and site supervisors, etc.
Faithful to its values, the Group has set up an employee shareholding policy which benefits all current employees and future recruits.
This fundraising represents a new opportunity to share the value creation, with the activated vesting of over 6 million euros worth of BSPCE (a French scheme set up by company co-founders and shareholders to open-up a share subscription program for its employees).
“This new funding round is a major milestone in the entrepreneurial adventure we have been building for 15 years. Faced with the growing need for renewable energies, we are putting our know-how and our spirit of partnership at the service of the energy and agricultural transitions. We share the same vision of sustainable growth with our long-standing partners, whom we thank for their continued trust and support. Together, and with the support and commitment of our employees, we are going to accelerate our growth in France and internationally to decarbonize the economy and contribute to the development of territories.” Julien Fleury, Lionel Themine, and Thomas de Moussac, co-founders of the Technique Solaire group.
“We are particularly proud to continue to support the Technique Solaire Group, its management, and its teams in their strong growth through the combination of our impact fund France Investissement Energie & Environnement 2 and our Large Cap investment capabilities.” Vanessa Giraud, Director of BPIfrance’s Environmental Impact Funds and in charge of the Strategy of BPIfrance Capital Développement, and Eric Lefebvre, Director in charge of Large Cap, member of the leadership team of BPIfrance Capital Développement.
“We are delighted to support the Technique Solaire group in this new phase of our partnership initiated by Crédit Agricole de la Touraine et du Poitou and Crédit Agricole Régions Investissement. We share the same desire to accelerate the development of renewable energies to contribute to the energy and agricultural transitions, in line with the Crédit Agricole Group’s societal project”. Antoine Paris, Director of Investment in charge of Energy transition at IDIA Capital Investissement (Crédit Agricole Group).
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Key stakeholders of the financial operation:
– Stakeholders Investors at Bpifrance Investissement: France Investissement Energie Environnement 2 « FIEE 2 » and Bpifrance Participations (Eric Lefebvre, Samia Ben Jemaa, Anne-Sophie Serre, Hugo Edimo, Côme Coester, Amira Mnafek, Anne-Sophie Marin).
– Stakeholders Investors at the Crédit Agricole Group : Crédit Agricole Touraine Poitou Transition Energétique, IDIA Capital Investissement,a pool of investors advised by Crédit Agricole Régions Investissement (Crédit Agricole Capital PME, Crédit Agricole Capital PME 2, Centre Loire Expansion, Centre Ouest Expansion, Val de France Expansion, Cadinvest), Unexo Capital, Crédit Agricole Aquitaine Production Energies, Crédit Agricole Centre Est Energies Nouvelles, Nord Est Expansion, Sofilaro, Grand Sud-Ouest Capital, CACF Développement, Crédit Agricole du Morbihan.
– The Technique Solaire Group’s advisors: Nomura (M&A), White & Case (Legal), 8A (Finance and Tax issues), Rina (Technical advisory) and Energie Legal (Legal projects).
– Advisors of Bpifrance and Crédit Agricole: Finergreen (M&A), Gide Loyrette Nouel (Legal), Greensolver (technique), et Deloitte (Legal projects, Finance & Tax, ESG).
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