Konexa, a UK-based integrated energy development and investment platform, has achieved financial close on a $18 million investment to set up Nigeria’s first private renewable trading platform.

The $18 million comes from Climate Fund Managers and Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. With the investment, Konexa will establish the trading platform and connect its inaugural client, Nigeria Breweries PLC, to the grid with a 100% green energy supply for two of its breweries.

Konexa is one of few companies to have secured a private energy trading license in Nigeria. Awarded by the Nigerian Energy Regulatory Commission in June 2022, Konexa’s license allows it to source renewable power from independent power producers, transport it across the national grid, and sell it to private clients.

Its future transactions will be facilitated via its electricity trading platform, which is expected to enhance energy reliability and sustainability for offtakers, while contributing to the overall resilience and efficiency of the national grid. Konexa CEO Pradeep Pursnani said the trading platform “will enable us to integrate sustainable energy sources into the grid while helping decarbonize the hard-to-abate commercial and industrial sector.”

Under the terms of its agreement with Nigeria Breweries, Konexa will facilitate energy transmission from the 30MW Gurara Hydro Power Plant in Kaduna State, Northern Nigeria, to two of Nigerian Breweries’ Kaduna facilities, which are both currently off-grid and powered entirely by fossil fuels. The project will also see the deployment of a battery energy storage solution to connect Nigerian Breweries to the grid.

With an annual supply of 20.5 GWh, the project is expected to prevent 8,104 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per year, the equivalent of taking 1,800 cars off the road.

“Historically, Nigeria has suffered from under-investment in its grid infrastructure, particularly when it comes to the distribution grid,” said Darron Johnson, regional head of investments Africa at Climate Fund Managers. “Konexa’s trading platform will play a pivotal role in bridging this gap by efficiently connecting third party, and, in future, its own renewable energy generation to C&I customers, helping them achieve reliable, cost-effective and sustainable energy independence while strengthening and enhancing the sustainability of the national grid.”

Despite its vast solar potential, energy poverty remains a problem in Nigeria, largely due to issues with grid infrastructure. Last year, Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency spoke to pv magazine about ongoing efforts to solve electricity challenges in rural areas of the country.