3E secures majority investment from Hg to accelerate AI innovation and international expansion
• 3 minute read
Brussels: 3E, a provider of renewable energy asset performance management software and technical advisory services, today announced it has secured a majority investment from Hg, the leading investor in European and transatlantic software and services businesses. Hg will acquire the stake from ReNew and minority shareholders. Members of 3E's founding and management team will continue to hold a stake alongside Hg.
Founded more than 25 years ago, 3E is the creator of SynaptiQ, a software platform that helps owners and operators of solar, wind and battery storage assets track performance and revenue, diagnose underperformance and act on it. The business also provides technical advisory services, including yield assessments and due diligence, used by lenders and investors across the renewables sector. 3E serves hundreds of customers across both utility-scale and distributed generation, and monitors more than 50 GW of assets in SynaptiQ for leading owners and operators such as EDP, Renvolt and BayWa r.e.
Solar and wind capacity has grown rapidly, creating grid congestion and market constraints, alongside rapid adoption of battery storage. This is changing how portfolios are run, how revenue is earned, and the business models of asset owners themselves. As a result, owners and operators are increasingly looking to combine asset, weather, and market data in a single trusted source, helping them make smarter decisions that maximise revenue and asset value.
Hg's investment will support 3E's next phase of growth as one of the sector's longest-standing specialists. 3E will accelerate SynaptiQ's development on two fronts. As a system of record, it will offer seamless OT/IT integration of asset, weather and market data. As a system of intelligence, it will combine physics-based models with AI to optimise portfolio performance, revenue and value. The investment will also drive 3E's international growth, particularly in the US. Hg will support 3E in pursuing selective acquisitions to broaden its product capabilities and international reach.
Galvanize Climate Solutions, an investor focused on energy and climate technology, will join Hg as a minority co-investor.
Stef Goossens, CEO of 3E, said: “For more than 25 years, 3E has helped owners, operators and investors understand how their renewable assets really perform. Backed by Hg, we are raising our ambition: to give our customers the industry’s leading systems of record and intelligence, in support of the energy transition. We will focus on AI-based revenue analytics for assets in operation and strengthen our US presence to accelerate global growth. Hg’s experience in scaling software businesses and in AI makes it the right partner for this next phase. I also want to thank ReNew who has been an energetic shareholder since December 2022, and whose support brought 3E to where we are today and positioned us to take this next step in our growth. We are glad to continue working with them as a valued customer. For our customers and our people, what makes 3E stays the same: the team that built it continues to lead it, and our advisory work remains independent. What changes is the pace at which we can deliver.”
Aashima Jain, Thomas Martin, and Chris Fielding at Hg said: "As renewable capacity continues to grow, investors and operators are looking for solutions to help protect returns on increasingly complex portfolios. Since its founding, 3E has built a detailed, physics-based understanding of how renewable assets perform, backed by decades of operational data and insights that compound over time. That is the ideal foundation for building new AI products that deliver measurable value to customers. We are excited to back Stef and the team as they invest in the product and scale internationally."
Saloni Multani and Mani Ghiasi at Galvanize said: “We have followed 3E’s journey for several years and have been impressed by its differentiated, physics-based digital twin platform and the loyalty of its customers. The business has strong momentum, and we look forward to working alongside Hg and bringing our energy sector expertise and relationships to accelerate that growth, particularly in the US.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to complete over the coming months. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
For further information, please contact:
Hg:
Tom Eckersley, tom.eckersley@hgcapital.com
Sam Ferris, sam.ferris@hgcapital.com
3E:
Jurgen Van Damme, jvd@3e.eu
About 3E
3E is a leading technology and SaaS company providing digital solutions and advisory services that maximise the performance of renewable energy assets. As a trusted data services partner, 3E delivers future-proof, easy-to-deploy solutions over a project’s entire lifetime, supporting developers, asset managers, operators, investors, EPC contractors and IPPs.
3E’s SynaptiQ platform combines physics-based digital twins with AI to monitor, analyse and optimise the performance and revenue of solar, wind and battery storage assets. 3E also provides advisory services for engineering, technical and strategic decision support, with a proven track record spanning more than 25 years and more than 100 countries.
3E brings together an international team of more than 150 experts representing 30 nationalities, with offices in Brussels, Raleigh, Barcelona, Paris, Toulouse, Cape Town and Chennai.
Strengthened by partnerships with universities and industry pioneers, 3E continues to explore innovations in renewable energy and digitalisation, striving to provide the industry’s most advanced energy intelligence and AI-based solutions.
For more information, visit www.3e.eu.
About Hg
Hg is an investor in European and transatlantic technology and services businesses. We are an AI leader in private equity, helping to build sector-leading enterprises that supply critical applications or workflow services to deliver intelligent automation for their customers.
We take an active approach to value creation, combining deep end-market knowledge with world class operational resources to support entrepreneurial leaders looking to scale and drive AI transformation.
With a vast European network and strong presence across North America, Hg has over $110 billion in assets under management and more than 400 employees. Our portfolio spans around 60 businesses worth over $195 billion in aggregate enterprise value, employing more than 140,000 people and consistently growing revenues at more than 16% annually.