Qualitas Energy has agreed to acquire Cero Generation’s core European solar and battery storage platform from Macquarie Group, adding a 5.8 GW portfolio spanning the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain to its holdings.
The acquisition covers more than 2 GW of assets that are operational, under construction or at the ready-to-build stage, along with a further 3.8 GW in earlier-stage development. The transaction includes Cero Generation’s local teams and offices in London, Milan and Madrid.
Cero Generation, established by Macquarie Group in 2021, develops, constructs and operates solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage system (BESS) projects. The company said it will continue to operate under its own brand as an independent portfolio company of Qualitas Energy following completion, which is expected in the coming months subject to customary conditions.
They did not disclose financial terms of the deal. Spanish financial news outlet Expansión reported that energy-sector sources value the transaction at more than €1 billion at market prices.
Cero Generation’s Larks Green cluster in the United Kingdom includes a 50 MW battery storage project operational since 2024 and a 70 MW solar array operational since 2023, according to project-level reporting. A further 70 MW/140 MWh BESS project, Lower Larks, is under construction with a targeted 2027 commissioning date.
Cero’s broader UK portfolio is expected to reach 345 MW of BESS and 207 MW of solar capacity once fully built out. The company’s Italian and Spanish assets within the deal are not individually named in public materials, and the release does not disclose a technology split between solar and storage across the wider 2 GW operational tranche.
Qualitas Energy is making the acquisition through Qualitas Energy Fund VI, which the firm describes as its latest flagship vehicle for platform-level and corporate-scale transactions. Daniel Parejo, managing partner and chief investment officer of Qualitas Energy, said Cero Generation is a strategic fit for the firm’s European portfolio and represents the fund’s platform-led growth strategy.
Qualitas Energy said it has committed more than €14 billion to energy transition projects since 2006 and manages roughly 11 GW of operational and development-stage renewable energy assets, including solar PV, concentrated solar power, wind, energy storage, hydroelectric power and renewable natural gas, across Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Chile and the United States.
Nomura advised Qualitas Energy on the transaction, with Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer as legal counsel, DNV and Kiwa Moroni as technical advisors, and KPMG advising on financial, tax and labor matters.
The deal follows a series of battery-storage and renewable-energy transactions across Europe in 2026. TotalEnergies sold a 50% stake in 11 German battery projects totaling 789 MW/1,628 MWh to Allianz Global Investors for €500 million in March, while Engie España acquired 278 MW/1,112 MWh of battery storage in Andalusia and OX2 bought a 200 MW/800 MWh Italian BESS portfolio from Hanwha Energy. That German portfolio has since moved into its next financing phase, with lenders backing a €440 million debt package for the TotalEnergies-Allianz project in July
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