Masdar and TotalEnergies are pooling their Asian renewables facilities into one JV: Abu Dhabi renewables firm Masdar and French giant TotalEnergies inked a binding agreement to establish a USD 2.2 bn 50/50 JV, which will act as their sole vehicle for developing, building, owning, and operating onshore solar, wind, and battery storage assets across nine Asian markets, according to a press release.

Centralizing execution: Instead of running parallel portfolios, the new entity will see both companies pool their assets into one structure covering Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Uzbekistan.

The pipeline: The JV launches with 3 GW in operational assets and 6 GW in advanced development, which are slated to go live in 2030. Both sides are contributing roughly equal-weight assets.

Two heads are better than one? The move to consolidate their assets comes as electricity demand accelerates across Asia, the statement said, adding that the companies would now bring together capital and expertise to deliver renewable energy at the “scale and speed required.” “[The partnershi[] will allow us to combine the strengths of our two companies to secure significant positions in these markets and create more value than if we were acting alone,” Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, said.

The JV will be based in Abu Dhabi, and will be staffed by 200 people across both companies, the statement said.

Background

Masdar has been scaling its investments in Asia for a while now: The renewables firm has a 2 GW renewables portfolio in Uzbekistan alone, where investments exceed USD 2 bn, and where it recently inaugurated a utility-scale solar-plus-storage facility. It’s currently also working on a round-the-clock clean energy project in Uzbekistan, targeting up to 1 GW of baseload capacity, as well as a 300 MW solar plant and a 1 GW wind project in Navoiy.

Beyond Uzbekistan, it’s also developing a 200 MW floating solar plant in Malaysia — one of several projects that come as part of plans to invest USD 8 bn for up to 10 GW of renewables projects in Malaysia by 2035. It also operates Southeast Asia’s (current) largest floating solar plant, the 145 MW Cirata floating PV project in Indonesia, which it plans to expand to 500 MW

Masdar was linked to a different TotalEnergies transaction last year: Masdar was reportedly eyeing the acquisition of TotalEnergies’ renewable assets in Portugal, as it looks to expand its European footprint and reach its global target of 100 GW in renewables assets by 2030.

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