> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://blog.financely-group.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # How Banks Finance Battery Storage Projects - URL: https://blog.financely-group.com/how-banks-finance-battery-storage-projects/ - Published: 2026-08-28T11:02:53.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-28T11:02:53.000Z - Description: Greenvolt's €218M BESS financing shows how bridge loans and guarantee facilities can fund utility-scale battery storage projects. - Author: Financely Debt Advisors - Tags: battery storage, project finance A €218 million financing package for two battery storage projects in Poland provides a useful example of how banks are approaching utility-scale BESS assets in 2026\. Greenvolt secured the financing from UniCredit for its Ełk and Turośń Kościelna battery energy storage projects. The package is notable because it is not presented as a single conventional project loan. It combines €153 million of bridge facilities with a separate €65 million guarantee facility. For battery developers seeking institutional capital, that distinction matters. Large energy-storage projects can require several forms of credit simultaneously. Construction and development expenditures need funded debt, while grid, contractual and other project obligations can require contingent bank capacity. The resulting financing package can therefore look materially different from a plain senior term loan. €218M Total UniCredit financing package. €153M Bridge facilities supporting project costs. €65M Separate guarantee facility. 1.6 GWh Combined storage capacity across the two projects. ## The Greenvolt Financing Structure Greenvolt announced the financing on August 27 for two projects in northeastern Poland. Ełk and Turośń Kościelna are each rated at 200 MW / 800 MWh, giving the portfolio a combined capacity of 400 MW / 1.6 GWh. Turośń Kościelna was officially inaugurated in July 2026\. Ełk is expected to reach commercial operation during the fourth quarter of 2026\. UniCredit provided a customised €218 million package comprising €153 million of bridge financing and a €65 million guarantee facility. The financing supports project-related costs for both assets. Greenvolt's M&A and project finance director described the transaction as evidence of growing lender confidence in battery storage as a mature and bankable infrastructure asset. The important financing lesson is the separation between funded project liquidity and contingent credit support. A BESS developer may need both. ## Why Battery Storage Needs More Than a Term Loan Utility-scale battery projects sit at the intersection of infrastructure finance, power markets and technology risk. The project company has to fund equipment procurement, engineering, construction, grid connection and commissioning before the asset reaches stable operations. At the same time, it can face contractual obligations requiring guarantees or other forms of credit support. That creates two distinct financing requirements. The first is **funded liquidity**. Cash has to be available to pay eligible project costs. The second is **contingent liquidity**. A bank may need to stand behind contractual obligations without necessarily advancing the full guarantee amount in cash. | Facility | Function | Typical Credit Question | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Bridge facility** | Funds eligible development, construction or project costs before a later financing or liquidity event. | What repays or refinances the bridge? | | **Guarantee facility** | Provides bank-backed support for eligible contractual obligations. | What happens if a guarantee is called? | | **Construction debt** | Finances construction against milestones and controlled drawdowns. | Can the project reach completion within budget? | | **Long-term project debt** | Refinances construction-stage exposure against operating cash flow. | Are operating revenues sufficient to service debt under downside cases? | Financely's [project finance advisory](https://www.financely.io/projectfinance?ref=blog.financely-group.com)work addresses this broader capital-stack question. A financing request needs to show lenders how construction expenditure, guarantees, sponsor capital, operating cash flow and the eventual refinancing or amortisation profile fit together. ## Why the €65 Million Guarantee Facility Matters The guarantee component is commercially important because project finance is not limited to borrowed cash. Energy and infrastructure projects can be required to provide performance guarantees, grid-related security, payment support, contractual guarantees or other bank-backed undertakings during development and operation. These instruments consume bank credit capacity even when no cash has been drawn. A lender therefore analyses the contingent facility alongside funded debt. If a guarantee is called, the contingent exposure can become a funded reimbursement obligation of the project company or sponsor. This is why guarantee capacity should be modelled when the project capital stack is designed, rather than treated as an administrative item shortly before construction. Financing an Energy or Infrastructure Project? Financely structures senior debt, bridge facilities, private credit, guarantees and blended capital stacks for eligible energy, infrastructure and real-asset projects. [Request a Quote ](https://www.financely.io/?ref=blog.financely-group.com) ## What Makes a BESS Project Bankable? Battery storage has a different underwriting profile from a conventional contracted solar project. Lenders need to understand how the battery will generate revenue, how frequently it will cycle, the expected degradation profile, augmentation requirements, equipment warranties, operating strategy and exposure to merchant power markets. The credit file also needs to explain construction risk. EPC responsibilities, equipment supply, liquidated damages, grid connection, commissioning tests, contingency budgets and completion support all affect the amount and structure of debt a lender is prepared to provide. Once operational, debt sizing moves toward the durability of project cash flow and the lender's assumptions around availability, operating expenditure, battery degradation and contracted versus merchant revenues. A lender-ready BESS financing file should normally address: - project ownership and SPV structure; - site rights and permitting; - grid connection and energisation status; - EPC and battery supply contracts; - equipment warranties and degradation assumptions; - construction budget and contingency; - revenue stack and contracted revenues; - merchant revenue assumptions; - operating and augmentation costs; - required guarantees and letters of credit; - sponsor equity contribution; - debt-service coverage under base and downside cases; and - refinancing or amortisation strategy. ## Bridge Debt Needs a Defined Exit The €153 million bridge component is equally instructive. Bridge financing is useful when the project has a temporary capital requirement that cannot efficiently wait for the final long-term financing structure. The word “bridge” nevertheless describes a financing function, not a credit rationale. A lender still needs to know what exists on the other side. Depending on the transaction, repayment can come from permanent project debt, asset sale proceeds, an equity injection, refinancing after commercial operation or another clearly identifiable liquidity event. The stronger and more controllable that exit is, the easier the bridge is to underwrite. “We need a bridge until the project is finished” is incomplete. The lender needs to know who provides the takeout, when it becomes available and what conditions must be satisfied before repayment occurs. ## Construction Risk Changes as COD Approaches The two Greenvolt assets are also at different stages. Turośń Kościelna was inaugurated in July. Ełk is targeting commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2026\. That matters because construction-stage and operating-stage assets present different credit risks. Before COD, lenders focus heavily on completion. Remaining construction costs, commissioning risk, contractor obligations, grid energisation and potential delays affect the probability that the asset will become capable of generating the cash flow assumed in the model. After successful commissioning, part of that risk falls away. The underwriting emphasis moves toward operational performance, revenue generation and debt service. ## BESS Is Moving Into Mainstream Infrastructure Credit The size of the Greenvolt transaction is significant because it shows commercial bank appetite for battery storage at meaningful scale. UniCredit described storage as a fundamental component of European grid stability and decarbonisation. Greenvolt said the financing demonstrates growing lender confidence in BESS as a mature infrastructure asset. That does not make every battery project financeable. It does mean developers can increasingly approach the financing question as an infrastructure-credit exercise rather than assuming that storage must be financed almost entirely with sponsor equity until operations are established. ## The Capital Stack Can Be Built Around Different Risks A useful way to structure a BESS financing mandate is to separate the project's risks before approaching capital providers. | Risk | Possible Financing Response | Key Underwriting Evidence | | ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Construction funding | Senior construction debt or bridge facility | EPC terms, budget, contingency and completion schedule | | Contractual security | Guarantee or LC facility | Underlying obligation, beneficiary and call mechanics | | Temporary capital gap | Bridge capital | Defined takeout or liquidity event | | Operating leverage | Long-term project debt | Cash-flow model, revenue contracts and DSCR | | Higher-risk funding gap | Sponsor equity, mezzanine or structured capital | Residual project economics and credible exit value | Financely works across [private credit and structured finance](https://www.financely.io/?ref=blog.financely-group.com)as well as project finance, allowing a mandate to be positioned around the actual funding gap rather than forcing every project into a conventional bank-loan structure. ## Guarantees Need to Be Structured Early Sponsors frequently focus on the cash portion of a financing requirement and discover later that a project also needs substantial bank guarantee capacity. That can create an avoidable closing problem. A guarantee facility still requires underwriting. The bank needs to understand the applicant, beneficiary, guaranteed obligation, expiry, wording, potential drawing mechanics and reimbursement source. Financely's [performance guarantee advisory](https://www.financely.io/performance-guarantee?ref=blog.financely-group.com)covers bank-backed contractual support for infrastructure, construction, procurement and other commercial obligations where a project company needs to satisfy a counterparty's security requirement. ## What Sponsors Should Take From the Greenvolt Deal The headline is that UniCredit committed €218 million to a large Polish battery portfolio. The more useful lesson is how the financing requirement was divided. Greenvolt did not simply announce €218 million of undifferentiated debt. The disclosed package separates €153 million of bridge facilities from €65 million of guarantee capacity. That is how sophisticated infrastructure financing often works. Different obligations are matched with different forms of capital. A sponsor seeking €100 million of “project finance” may actually need €55 million of construction debt, €15 million of guarantees, €10 million of bridge capital and €20 million of sponsor or subordinated capital. Identifying those components early produces a much stronger financing mandate. Need Capital for an Energy Project? Financely advises sponsors on project debt, private credit, bridge facilities, guarantees and blended financing structures for energy, infrastructure and real-asset transactions. [Request a Quote ](https://www.financely.io/?ref=blog.financely-group.com) Disclaimer Financely provides structured finance and project finance advisory services. Financely is not a bank or direct lender and does not itself issue guarantees or commit lender capital. Financing and guarantee facilities remain subject to independent underwriting, KYC, AML, sanctions screening, documentation, lender approval and applicable conditions precedent.