Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), acting on behalf of its fund Copenhagen Infrastructure IV (CI IV), announced it has signed an agreement to sell 50% of its ownership in the Coalburn 1 energy storage project to AXA Investment Managers Alternatives (AXA IM Alts), a global leader in alternative investments. This divestment will become effective after the site commissioning, expected in early 2026, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners stated in a press release published on April 28.
Coalburn 1, located in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, is a 500MW two-hour lithium-ion battery energy storage system. The project, currently under construction, will become the largest operational battery energy storage site in Europe. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners had made the financial investment decision for Coalburn 1 in December 2023.
An expanding project portfolio in the United Kingdom
The project benefits from a high level of contracted revenues through a ten-year optimisation agreement with SSE plc (SSE), alongside a fifteen-year capacity market agreement. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners indicated it would continue to lead Coalburn 1’s delivery during the construction phase and after site commissioning.
Coalburn 1 is one of three transmission-connected energy storage projects currently being built by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners in Scotland. These projects will have a combined power capacity of 1.5GW and a storage capacity of 3GWh, enough to supply more than 4.5mn households for two hours.
Growing investments in energy storage
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners is also developing an additional 4.5GW of energy storage projects across the United Kingdom. Through its CI V fund, which recently surpassed a size of EUR12bn ($12.8bn), the company invests in a wide range of renewable technologies, including wind, solar PV and energy storage, across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.
In the energy storage sector, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners currently manages an active portfolio in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia. This strategy positions the company among the world’s leading investors in the sector.
Nischal Agarwal, Partner at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, stated: “We are pleased to welcome AXA IM Alts as a new partner on the Coalburn 1 site, which will become Europe’s largest operational energy storage project in 2026.”
Mark Gilligan, Head of Infrastructure at AXA Investment Managers Alternatives, added: “This investment in Coalburn 1 marks a significant milestone for AXA IM Alts in entering the UK energy storage market.”
