Macquarie and Siemens join forces to “simplify” corporate shift to renewables

The green investment arm of Australian financial behemoth Macquarie Group has joined forces with international engineering giant Siemens to create an “energy as a service” venture designed to harness the corporate shift to distributed renewables.

The new entity, Calibrant Energy, was launched in the US on Monday as a joint venture of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG, and formerly the UK’s Green bank) and Siemens’ Smart Infrastructure (SI) and Financial Services (SFS).

In a joint statement, the companies said Calibrant was aimed at simplifying the decarbonisation of US corporations and institutions through planning, designing, building, owning, and operating clients’ energy production and storage assets.

The company will draw from Siemens’ latest energy solutions, as well as “best-in-class” products from across the industry, while the Macquarie side of the equation will bring its own expertise in up-front capital investment.

“Many companies and institutions are embarking on a green transition in their energy strategies to take advantage of lower cost, lower emissions and increased resilience,” said Chris Archer, GIG’s head of Americas.

“Due to our shared vision and complementary expertise, GIG viewed Siemens as the ideal partner in forming Calibrant Energy to work closely with clients to deliver simple, customised, fully managed energy solutions.

“With industry-leading technology, deep sector expertise and flexible financing capabilities, Calibrant is well positioned to be a transformative leader in distributed energy and accelerate the transition toward a greener economy,” Archer said.

Greg Callman, the global head of energy technology at Macquarie Capital, said the new joint venture was about making it simple for the customer, while also leveraging a growing set of technologies and applications around distributed energy.

“Crafting a simple and compelling customer solution requires a combination of discipline and innovation, and Calibrant is purpose built,” he said.

“Combining Siemens’ innovative technology solutions and – together with GIG – adding our own financing and risk management expertise, Calibrant Energy will help enable customers to obtain resilient low-cost energy and meet sustainability goals with no up-front cost,” added Anthony Casciano, the CEO of Siemens Financial Services.

“As an experienced investor in energy and infrastructure initiatives throughout the United States, SFS has been a pioneer in providing flexible financing solutions for the advancement of distributed energy projects.”