In February 2024 UBS Asset Management bought two Texas battery projects from SMT Energy, together about 406 MW. Neither had been built. Seven months later, UBS raised $315.7 million of bank debt for four Texas batteries. Two of them carry the names of the projects it had bought from SMT. Between those two dates, the portfolio nearly doubled.
Key takeaways
- SMT Energy announced on 7 February 2024 that it had sold a 406 MW battery storage portfolio in Texas to UBS Asset Management, with the deal value not disclosed by the parties.
- Enerdatics understands that the SMT Energy portfolio sold to UBS Asset Management comprises the 308.6 MW Ironman battery project in Brazoria County and the 97.43 MW Carambola battery project in Hidalgo County, the two SMT projects in the ERCOT queue with signed interconnection agreements.
- Enerdatics estimates the value of UBS Asset Management's acquisition of SMT Energy's 406 MW Texas battery portfolio at $16.24 million, or about $0.04 million per MW.
- UBS Asset Management secured $315.7 million from a bank syndicate co-led by Deutsche Bank and First Citizens Bank, announced on 4 September 2024, for four Texas battery projects including Ironman and Carambola, with a combined 734.04 MW and 1,049 MWh.
- Across US battery development deals announced in 2023 and 2024, Enerdatics records a median developer premium of $0.05 million per MW from ten priced transactions, and $0.03 million per MW for late-stage projects.
Timeline: how did the portfolio move from SMT to the banks?
December 2023. SMT Energy, a US battery storage developer, owner and operator founded in 2019, sells a separate 100 MW battery portfolio in Texas to SUSI Partners. Enerdatics estimates that deal at $48.5 million.
7 February 2024. SMT sells about 406 MW of battery projects to UBS Asset Management. The price is not announced. Stoel Rives advises SMT on the legal side.
4 September 2024. UBS Asset Management closes $315.7 million of debt from a bank syndicate for four Texas battery projects with a combined 734.04 MW and 1,049 MWh. The asset names recorded are Carambola, Backbone Creek and Ironman.
The timeline shows a buyer that did not stop at the two projects it bought. By the time the debt was raised, the UBS Texas storage platform had grown to four projects and nearly twice the capacity.
Why were these two projects the ones to sell?
Because they had cleared the hardest gate. An interconnection agreement is the contract with the grid operator that confirms a project can connect, on what terms and at what cost. Until it is signed, a project in the queue is a request, not a commitment.
SMT had nine projects in the ERCOT interconnection queue at the time of the sale. Two had interconnection agreements. Their combined capacity is about 406 MW, which matches the size of the portfolio sold. That is why Enerdatics understands the assets to be Ironman and Carambola. The parties did not name them in the announcement.
Selling exactly the projects that have reached that stage is a clean way for a developer to realise value. The queue position is the scarce asset. Everything after it, construction, equipment and finance, needs capital that a developer of SMT's size would rather hand to someone else.
How much did UBS pay, and is that cheap?
The parties did not disclose a price. Enerdatics estimates it at $16.24 million, or about $0.04 million per MW. That is an Enerdatics estimate, not a reported figure, and it should be read as a development-stage price, not the cost of the finished asset.
A developer premium is the amount a buyer pays per MW for a project's development work, before any construction money is spent. For US battery storage it is a small number because most of the eventual cost sits in equipment and build. A low per MW price on an unbuilt battery is normal, and it says nothing about what the completed project will be worth.
Compare it with SMT's sale to SUSI two months earlier. Enerdatics estimates that deal at about $0.49 million per MW on an enterprise value basis, with a developer premium of about $0.065 million per MW. The SUSI portfolio was a smaller set of projects and its estimate includes more than development value. The UBS deal is the cleaner read on what an unbuilt Texas battery with an interconnection agreement was fetching.
What does the September debt tell us?
That the projects moved fast. The financing record describes the money as funding the development and construction of four battery systems, with commercial operation expected by the end of 2024. The acquisition record, based on ERCOT queue data, had pointed to operation in 2026. The two dates do not align, and Leap records both, so the faster timetable should be read as the lenders' expectation rather than a confirmed outcome.
The syndicate is broad. Deutsche Bank and First Citizens Bank co-led, with Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas as administrative agent. Société Générale and Siemens joined as joint lead arrangers, alongside BankUnited, Mitsubishi HC Capital and BayernLB.
The ratio of energy to power is also telling. A battery's duration is its energy capacity divided by its power rating, the number of hours it can discharge at full output. At 1,049 MWh across 734.04 MW, the four projects average about 1.4 hours. That points to systems designed for short, fast bursts of output rather than long overnight shifting.
Where does the deal sit among US battery development deals?
Near the lower middle. Enerdatics' data shows 37 US battery storage deals involving projects under development announced in 2023 and 2024. Ten carry a developer premium, with a median of $0.05 million per MW and an interquartile range of $0.03 million to $0.07 million. Late-stage projects sit at a median of $0.03 million and ready-to-build projects at $0.07 million.
At an estimated $0.04 million per MW, the UBS acquisition sits between the late-stage and ready-to-build medians. That fits projects holding interconnection agreements but not yet in construction.
What does the deal signal for Texas storage?
Financial buyers are entering ERCOT storage at the development stage, then funding construction themselves. UBS paid a development price in February and had $315.7 million of construction debt in place for a larger Texas platform by September. Others have taken the same route at larger scale, including Plus Power's $1.8 billion financing across Texas and Arizona batteries and Eolian's $463 million package for its Padua batteries in Texas.
The unresolved part is the fourth project. The financing names Carambola, Backbone Creek and Ironman, but covers four systems. Where the rest of the 734 MW came from is not set out in either record.
Frequently asked questions
What did UBS Asset Management buy from SMT Energy? UBS Asset Management acquired a 406 MW battery storage portfolio in Texas from SMT Energy, announced on 7 February 2024. Enerdatics understands it comprises the 308.6 MW Ironman and 97.43 MW Carambola projects.
How much did UBS pay for the SMT Energy batteries? The price was not disclosed. Enerdatics estimates the deal at $16.24 million, or about $0.04 million per MW.
How did UBS finance the Texas battery projects? UBS Asset Management secured $315.7 million from a bank syndicate co-led by Deutsche Bank and First Citizens Bank in September 2024, for four Texas battery projects totalling 734.04 MW and 1,049 MWh.
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