Singapore-headquartered energy-as-a-service (EaaS) infrastructure platform August Energy and Indian energy efficiency company Energeia have announced a USD 100 million partnership to finance and deliver energy efficiency infrastructure projects across India, with a particular focus on Cooling-as-a-Service (CaaS) for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers.
The partnership, named August Energeia, aims to address the upfront capital requirements that have limited the adoption of energy efficiency and decarbonisation solutions among Indian businesses.
Partnership to Finance Energy Efficiency Infrastructure
Under the partnership, August Energy will contribute institutional capital, techno-commercial structuring and business development capabilities, while Energeia will provide energy auditing, engineering execution, technology and on-ground sales expertise.
August Energeia will operate as a dedicated infrastructure platform, bringing together capital from European, Japanese and Asian institutional investors, including Aravest, Green Tower, Proparco, responsAbility and Aseem.
Energeia will support project development through its IoT-enabled energy audit capabilities and AI-enabled digital platform for managing energy efficiency projects.
EaaS Model to Eliminate Upfront Capital Requirement
Through the Energy-as-a-Service model, factories and commercial buildings will be able to upgrade energy-intensive infrastructure without making the upfront capital investment.
The platform will finance, implement and manage projects covering cooling, heating, steam, compressed air, fuel switching and motor-driven systems, alongside renewable energy deployment involving solar, wind and energy storage.
Project economics will be linked to the performance and energy savings delivered, allowing customers to shift energy infrastructure investments from traditional capital expenditure to a performance-linked operating expenditure model.
The model is intended to enable businesses to preserve capital for core operations while reducing energy costs and emissions.
Focus on Energy-Intensive Industries
August Energeia plans to target energy-intensive sectors including pharmaceuticals, automotive, food and beverage, chemicals, cement, steel, hospitality, healthcare, data centres, REITs and commercial real estate.
The partnership aims to aggregate distributed energy efficiency projects and develop them into a scalable infrastructure investment opportunity for institutional capital.
Sookrit Malik, Co-Founder and CEO, Energeia, said the partnership would address barriers such as high upfront costs, uncertainty around energy savings and procurement requirements by shifting projects from high-risk CAPEX to predictable, performance-linked OPEX.
Vishal Jain, Co-founder and Head of India, August Energy, said the partnership aims to enable businesses to improve energy efficiency and resilience without diverting capital away from core growth activities.
Energy Efficiency Positioned as Investable Asset Class
The partners said the combination of institutional capital, infrastructure ownership, project execution and ongoing energy management could turn energy savings into a bankable and repeatable revenue stream.
The USD 100 million target is also expected to support the development of energy efficiency and distributed energy infrastructure as an investable asset class in India.
By removing upfront capital requirements, the model could allow businesses to assess energy-efficient technologies based on lifecycle energy performance and total cost of ownership rather than initial purchase price.
August Energy and Energeia aim to scale the deployment of energy efficiency infrastructure across India while providing C&I customers with a pathway to reduce operating costs and decarbonise their facilities.
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