“Always-on power is usually a mine’s first concern when considering solar- or wind-generated electricity, so being able to provide baseload through solar and batteries is a turning point for the applicability of our technology to the sector.”
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How has CrossBoundary Energy grown over the past year?
CrossBoundary Energy develops, builds, owns, and operates energy-as-a-service for business operations in Africa and beyond. It is part of the CrossBoundary Group, an investment firm founded in 2011. Our portfolio has been doubling nearly every year for the past four years, and is currently close to US$1 billion.
This buoyant growth is supported by powerful tailwinds, including the decreasing technological cost curve of renewables.
Could you elaborate on the implications of shifting from a fuel-based to a technology-based energy system, especially for Africa?
This shift is unprecedented in human history: a fuel-based system is monolithic, centralized and scarce, whilst a technology-based energy system is modular, distributed and infinite. The shift is particularly advantageous in Africa, where centralized energy systems have historically been unable to serve many businesses and individuals.
Centralized energy systems rely on large-scale, expensive infrastructure, but with technology like solar PV, the rollout can be iterative, in many places at once. In a fuel-based energy system, the more you use, the more expensive it becomes, because it is a finite resource that slowly depletes and requires supply from farther afield. In a technological energy system, the more that is consumed, the cheaper it becomes.
This transformation presents exciting potential for the mining sector in Africa, which has historically relied on expensive fuel-generated power and unreliable grids.
Could you comment on the portfolio-based guarantee with MIGA (World Bank)?
Corporate customers, especially large mines, want access to cheaper and more reliable power as quickly as possible. So we have been focused since the beginning on raising capital and instruments at the portfolio level, rather than at the individual project level. Our business is more of a distributed utility than a set of separate projects, and that means we do not wait to win projects to finance them. All of our assets go into a single pool, against which we raise equity and debt. For the customer, what matters is our ability to move faster.
CrossBoundary Energy entered a US$495 million guarantee framework with the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), which could support over 100 energy projects in up to 20 African countries. This cover allows us to structure a half-a-billion-dollar facility that we can use as needed, rather than project by project.
You mentioned CrossBoundary Energy positions itself as a utility. Who are your main offtakers?
We serve different customer segments, but the biggest demand for power today comes from mining, heavy industrials like cement and steel, as well as telecoms. We have both off-grid and on-grid clients, but the off-grid segment has been the fastest-growing, driven by lower battery prices and rising demand, especially in sectors like mining. So, while we can compete with the traditional grid, our most compelling value is for users relying on heavy fuel or diesel trucked from far away.
Could you tell us about the power purchase agreement for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper complex in the DRC?
The Kamoa-Kakula Copper mining complex is the largest copper mine in Africa. To fuel their ongoing expansion and meet the global demand for copper, the mine needs reliable, affordable power; it aims to be Africa’s greenest copper producer. Solar and batteries, as mentioned above, provide an affordable and clean power supply, but Kamoa required a system of sufficient scale to deliver 30 MW of baseload, ‘dispatchable’ power.
Always-on power is usually a mine’s first concern when considering solar- or wind-generated electricity, so being able to provide baseload through solar and batteries is a turning point for the applicability of our technology to the sector. We are currently working with Kamoa Copper S.A. to construct a huge system—over 200 MWp solar and over 500 MWh battery storage—which will supply the 30 MW baseload requirement to the mine, day and night. The cost of the energy is still much lower than that of diesel or fuel generators. Because CrossBoundary Energy owns and operates the energy plant, the mine also needs to lay out zero CapEx for the facility. This is an example of the transformative power of the technological energy transition underway in one of Africa’s most important sectors.
How has CrossBoundary Energy grown over the past year?
CrossBoundary Energy develops, builds, owns, and operates energy-as-a-service for business operations in Africa and beyond. It is part of the CrossBoundary Group, an investment firm founded in 2011. Our portfolio has been doubling nearly every year for the past four years, and is currently close to US$1 billion.
This buoyant growth is supported by powerful tailwinds, including the decreasing technological cost curve of renewables.
Could you elaborate on the implications of shifting from a fuel-based to a technology-based energy system, especially for Africa?
This shift is unprecedented in human history: a fuel-based system is monolithic, centralized and scarce, whilst a technology-based energy system is modular, distributed and infinite. The shift is particularly advantageous in Africa, where centralized energy systems have historically been unable to serve many businesses and individuals.
Centralized energy systems rely on large-scale, expensive infrastructure, but with technology like solar PV, the rollout can be iterative, in many places at once. In a fuel-based energy system, the more you use, the more expensive it becomes, because it is a finite resource that slowly depletes and requires supply from farther afield. In a technological energy system, the more that is consumed, the cheaper it becomes.
This transformation presents exciting potential for the mining sector in Africa, which has historically relied on expensive fuel-generated power and unreliable grids.
Could you comment on the portfolio-based guarantee with MIGA (World Bank)?
Corporate customers, especially large mines, want access to cheaper and more reliable power as quickly as possible. So we have been focused since the beginning on raising capital and instruments at the portfolio level, rather than at the individual project level. Our business is more of a distributed utility than a set of separate projects, and that means we do not wait to win projects to finance them. All of our assets go into a single pool, against which we raise equity and debt. For the customer, what matters is our ability to move faster.
CrossBoundary Energy entered a US$495 million guarantee framework with the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), which could support over 100 energy projects in up to 20 African countries. This cover allows us to structure a half-a-billion-dollar facility that we can use as needed, rather than project by project.
You mentioned CrossBoundary Energy positions itself as a utility. Who are your main offtakers?
We serve different customer segments, but the biggest demand for power today comes from mining, heavy industrials like cement and steel, as well as telecoms. We have both off-grid and on-grid clients, but the off-grid segment has been the fastest-growing, driven by lower battery prices and rising demand, especially in sectors like mining. So, while we can compete with the traditional grid, our most compelling value is for users relying on heavy fuel or diesel trucked from far away.
Could you tell us about the power purchase agreement for the Kamoa-Kakula Copper complex in the DRC?
The Kamoa-Kakula Copper mining complex is the largest copper mine in Africa. To fuel their ongoing expansion and meet the global demand for copper, the mine needs reliable, affordable power; it aims to be Africa’s greenest copper producer. Solar and batteries, as mentioned above, provide an affordable and clean power supply, but Kamoa required a system of sufficient scale to deliver 30 MW of baseload, ‘dispatchable’ power.
Always-on power is usually a mine’s first concern when considering solar- or wind-generated electricity, so being able to provide baseload through solar and batteries is a turning point for the applicability of our technology to the sector. We are currently working with Kamoa Copper S.A. to construct a huge system—over 200 MWp solar and over 500 MWh battery storage—which will supply the 30 MW baseload requirement to the mine, day and night. The cost of the energy is still much lower than that of diesel or fuel generators. Because CrossBoundary Energy owns and operates the energy plant, the mine also needs to lay out zero CapEx for the facility. This is an example of the transformative power of the technological energy transition underway in one of Africa’s most important sectors.
