Irish-led Corre Energy valued at €62m on Dublin flotation

Renewables group, which focuses on underground storage of gases, raises €12m in IPO

Ringing the Euronext bell: (from left) chief commercial officer Patrick McClughan, chief executive Keith McGrane, company president Darren Patrick-Green and Stuart Livingstone, group operations director. Photograph: Orla Murray/Coalesce Ltd

Irish-led but Dutch-based Corre Energy floated on the growth market operated by Euronext Dublin on Thursday at a market value of €62 million, after raising €12 million in an initial public offering (IPO).

Its stock subsequently rose 10 per cent to €1.10 on its market debut.

Established in 2018, the renewable energy company is focused on the development, construction and future operation of grid-scale underground storage facilities, as well as the production and sale of green hydrogen. It had originally intended to raise €10 million in the IPO.

Chief executive Keith McGrane, a University College Dublin-educated geophysicist by background, said the fundraising, managed by stockbrokers Davy, was “heavily oversubscribed”.

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"The placement proceeds, alongside our public listing, committed project partners and access to a range of other funding sources, leaves Corre Energy well positioned as a first mover in a technology solution that we believe will be a game changer for environmentally and economically sustainable green energy," said Mr McGrane, who previously worked in renewables development at Airtricity and Gaelectric and natural resource financing at lenders KBC Group and Barclays.

Development phase

Corre Energy is chaired by Frank Allen, current chairman of Iarnród Éireann and former CEO of the Railway Procurement Agency. The company's headquarters are in the northern Dutch city of Groningen.

Corre Energy, which is currently in development phase, will use renewable electricity to store compressed air in underground salt caverns, which can subsequently be combined with green hydrogen stored in co-located caverns to fuel the generation of electricity.

Corre Energy recently secured equity-linked funding of up to €20 million from a European Investment Bank-backed Italian infrastructure fund, of which €3 million has already been received.

The company's development pipeline of 11 green hydrogen storage projects includes the Zuidwending project in the Netherlands, which will have a generation capacity of 320 megawatts, and Green Hydrogen Hub in Denmark, also a 320MW facility.

Joe Brennan

Joe Brennan

Joe Brennan is Markets Correspondent of The Irish Times