Zenobe
London-based company that finances, builds and operates grid-scale battery storage and electric bus and truck fleets in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, North America and Europe; backed by KKR and Infracapital.
Industry: Battery storage and electric fleet infrastructure | Location: London, United Kingdom | Founded: 2017 | Total Funding: USD 1.1B
About Zenobe
Zenobē is a London-headquartered company that designs, finances, builds and operates battery storage and electric fleet infrastructure. Its website names Zenobē Energy Limited as the legal entity and lists operations in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, North America, Benelux, Germany and Spain, with an office in Sydney.\n\nThe company began in 2017 and was founded by James Basden, Nicholas Beatty and Steven Meersman. Beatty retired in November 2024. Dr Donald Weir is chief executive, appointed after the September 2023 capital raise; he previously held senior roles at Siemens, E.ON and thyssenkrupp. Steve Holliday, a former chief executive of National Grid plc, is chairman.\n\nZenobē has three business lines: Electric Fleets for buses, trucks, school buses and second-life batteries, Network Infrastructure for grid-connected battery storage, and Portable Power. It says it has about 1,500 MW of grid-connected batteries live or under contract and supports more than 3,400 electric vehicles. It also says it works with about 90% of major UK bus companies and powers a quarter of the UK electric bus market. Customers it names include National Express, Oxford Bus Company, Nottingham City Transport, CDC Victoria in Australia and the University at Buffalo.\n\nThe company reports acquiring sdp energie, a Bavarian battery storage developer, as its first major move into Germany, and Revolv, which adds electric trucks to its North American business. It has also bought a battery site in Carlisle from Innova and invested in the fleet technology company GoMetro.\n\nOn 7 September 2023 Zenobē announced about 600 million pounds of new equity from KKR and a further 270 million pounds from Infracapital, leaving the two as joint majority shareholders, with JERA and TEPCO Power Grid as minority strategic shareholders. On 5 December 2023 Mubadala announced an investment alongside Infracapital, where it is a strategic limited partner, without giving an amount. The company says it has raised over 3.2 billion pounds of debt and equity since 2017.\n\nZenobē's stated 2026 targets are 4,000 electric buses, trucks and commercial vehicles in operation and 1.2 GW of battery power delivering grid services. It won a Changemaker award at the 2024 Greentech Festival Green Awards.
Leadership
- James Basden, Founder Director; leads Network Infrastructure
- Steven Meersman, Founder Director; leads the EV team
- Donald Weir, Chief Executive Officer
- Iain Wetherall, Chief Financial Officer
- Martyn Adeyinka, Chief Operating Officer
- Sophie Barr, General Counsel and Company Secretary
- Tim Boothman, Chief Commercial Officer, EV
- Semih Oztreves, Chief Commercial Officer, Network Infrastructure