Amsterdam-based power scale-up Return has entered a long-term partnership with APG, on behalf of pension fund ABP – the previous of which is investing €300 million in new development fairness for a minority stake to assist the platform.
“Partnering with APG marks an necessary step towards a extra related and resilient European power system,” mentioned Willem-Jan Schutte, Founder and CEO of Return. “Collectively, we will flip immediately’s fragmented power panorama into one that actually works for patrons, communities and the local weather.”
Return’s development fairness funding from APG locations it among the many largest European storage and suppleness financings of 2025.
The deal surpasses most peer rounds, with solely Terra One (€150 million) displaying a comparable scale in grid-scale battery deployment. Throughout the Netherlands, Sympower and iwell additionally secured new capital this 12 months, highlighting sustained investor confidence in Dutch power flexibility platforms.
On a broader European degree, inexperienced flexibility and Voltfang show continued institutional curiosity in scalable battery infrastructure.
Towards this backdrop, Return’s partnership with APG reinforces the pattern of huge, long-term buyers supporting capital-intensive, grid-balancing storage networks throughout Europe.
“The power transition requires shared accountability,” added Sjoerd Bazen, Managing Director at Return. “With APG we align pursuits, enhance efficiency and create alternatives that profit markets and society.”
Based in 2021, Return is an power scale-up specialising in grid-scale battery power storage programs (BESS) and suppleness companies. The corporate connects storage websites throughout nations by a data-driven platform that balances renewable technology, alleviates grid congestion, and enhances system reliability.
Lively within the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Spain, Return operates 70 MW of storage capability with an extra 450 MW underneath development.
With over €2 billion in long-term buyer contracts, Return is on monitor to fulfill future demand with a pan-European storage community of round 5 GW by 2030, supporting versatile, dependable entry to scrub power.
The transaction was signed in October 2025 and, topic to regulatory approval, is anticipated to shut by year-end.
“APG’s funding aligns with its shopper’s technique of supporting clear, related infrastructure that delivers steady, long-term returns whereas advancing net-zero targets, within the curiosity of ABP and its individuals. Grid-scale battery storage is essential to reliably combine renewables and to ease grid congestion,” mentioned Bart Saenen, Senior Funding Director at APG. “Return’s built-in platform, long run imaginative and prescient on relations, and de-risked pipeline make it a robust companion for constructing grid resilience throughout Europe.”
Throughout Europe, the rising share of renewables is creating fluctuations in electrical energy provide and demand. Power clients want flexibility to stability portfolios and use renewable energy extra successfully. Return’s high-tech battery power storage system (“BESS”) platform goals to sort out this problem by connecting storage websites throughout nations, displaying real-time perception the place power is offered and wanted to ease congestion and strengthen the grid.
The partnership reinforces Return’s position as an impartial participant in Europe’s power system, connecting stakeholders by data-driven storage.
APG’s long-term involvement provides monetary stability and helps continued system-focused supply.
