EBRD takes 40% of Scatec's Egypt renewables platform for up to $221 million
The vehicle is meant initially to add 2.7 GW of solar, 900 MW of wind and 4.2 GWh of storage in Egypt; Scatec says about $170 million of the EBRD's commitment is equity and the rest project-level guarantees.
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The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Norwegian power producer Scatec signed a share purchase agreement on 22 October to set up a renewable energy investment platform for Egypt, with Scatec holding 60 per cent and the EBRD 40 per cent, Scatec said in a release published that day. The bank's commitment is up to $221 million.
The two announcements describe the money differently. The EBRD's statement calls it a minority equity stake of up to $221 million, or €191 million, in Egypt Renewables Holdings B.V., the vehicle Scatec established. Scatec's release says that of the up to $221 million, about $170 million is equity and the remainder project-level guarantees.
What the platform holds
The portfolio is initially meant to support the addition of 2.7 GW of solar capacity, 900 MW of wind capacity and 4.2 GWh of battery energy storage in Egypt, according to the EBRD, and the money will go to the acquisition, development and construction of renewable energy infrastructure in Egypt and across the southern and eastern Mediterranean. The platform is expected to hold 40 per cent of the equity in the Obelisk project, 51 per cent of Shadwan and about 60 per cent of phase 1 of Egypt Aluminium, known as Dandara, and of Energy Valley, alongside other minority co-investors, Scatec said.
Obelisk has already been financed. When Scatec reached financial close on the project in June 2025, it described 1.1 GW of solar and a 100 MW battery system with 200 MWh of storage, built in two phases, at an estimated capital cost of $590 million. Non-recourse project debt of $479.1 million came from the EBRD, the African Development Bank and British International Investment, and the power is sold to the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company under a 25-year, dollar-denominated purchase agreement backed by a sovereign guarantee, according to that release.
Scatec stays the lead sponsor, developer, engineering, procurement and construction provider and asset manager for the projects, and the EBRD invests alongside it through the holding vehicle, according to Scatec. The platform may later invest in other opportunities across the wider Middle East and North Africa, Scatec said; the EBRD names the southern and eastern Mediterranean region. Neither release gives closing conditions or an expected completion date.
Why the bank says it is investing
The EBRD links the deal to the energy pillar of Egypt's Nexus of Water, Food and Energy programme, launched at the COP27 climate conference in Sharm El Sheikh, which the bank leads. That pillar covers private-sector renewable capacity, investment in electricity networks, skills and a just energy transition, according to the EBRD statement.
"This equity investment marks an important step in strengthening Egypt's energy security," said Harry Boyd-Carpenter, the EBRD's managing director for sustainable infrastructure. Terje Pilskog, Scatec's chief executive, said in the company's release that "Egypt has become one of Scatec's most important markets".
Scatec has 6.6 GW of generation and 2 GWh of storage in operation or under construction across five continents, the company said. The EBRD has invested more than €16 billion in 238 projects in Egypt since it began operating there in 2012, according to the bank.
The wider context
Elsewhere in renewables finance, the Actis and Mubadala-backed developer Rezolv signed a €561 million, 14-lender loan for its Dama Solar project, and the EBRD itself lent up to $150 million to Enerjisa Üretim in Türkiye. In Cairo, the Central Bank of Egypt held its policy rates on 24 September, and annual urban inflation eased to 13.9 per cent in September.
Scatec is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. Its release does not say when or in how many instalments the EBRD's equity will be paid in.