Winning 'Renewables fund of the year', the Gresham House Energy Storage Fund (GRID) is the largest operational, utility-scale battery storage fund in the UK.
GRID invests in utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) across the UK and Ireland, which support the production of renewable energy by balancing and stabilising the electricity grid.
For example, the UK National Grid must generate more electricity from gas-fired power stations when renewable supply falls short and must also pay owners of wind and solar farms to stop generating when supply is greater than anticipated.
Batteries help to smooth out this process by allowing renewable energy to be stored when there is oversupply, and then "released" when supply falls short." says Gresham House Asset Management.
The fund, launched in November 2018, now has a market capitalisation of £864 million ($1.1 billion) as of 6 April 2023 and 550MW total battery energy storage operational capacity provided to the National Grid, an increase in operational capacity of 29% compared with 2021 (425MW).
The total target portfolio also grew to 2GW in 2022. This figure includes operational assets, assets under construction, and in pre-construction.
This helped underlying investment portfolio revenues rise 22% in 2022 to £63 million.
The fund holds the London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark, which recognises London-listed companies and funds that derive more than 50% of their revenues from products and services that are contributing the environmental objectives. It also claims alignment with the Article 8 requirements under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)
Gresham House also published disclosures in line with the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations for the first time in 2022 and Sustainable Investment Awards judges deemed its inaugural efforts worthy of winning the 'TCFD report of the year' award.
With assets under management (AUM) of £7.8 billion, the 48-page TCFD report gives an overview of the asset manager's exposure to climate-related risks and the climate-related opportunities that the asset manager is pursuing. It also includes metrics that help monitor whether assets are performing in line with their stated intention.
Jonathan Walker, associate director of Gresham House's Sustainable Investment team, commented: "We are delighted to win two awards at this year's Sustainable Investment Awards.
"These awards recognise our leading position in the sustainable investment industry both in the solutions we offer and the transparency we provide to our stakeholders to positively contribute towards the transition to a more sustainable economy. We believe that sustainable investments drive returns because they are good for people and the planet."
