A power system that lost four fifths of its capacity.
The platform
ELQ Investments is an investment and development platform for the reconstruction of Ukraine's energy sector. It converts assets from the shovel-ready stage into operating infrastructure through ring-fenced Ukrainian project companies held under an Estonian holding company.
Permitting, stakeholder coordination and operational presence are provided by ELQ Ukraine in Kyiv. A separate ring-fenced Ukrainian SPV is set up for each asset, so the risks of individual projects do not accumulate in a single entity.
Structure
Platform leadership
The strategic investor is Dr Marcin Sołtysiak, 95% shareholder and chief executive of ELQ S.A. He took over and restructured the company in 2012 and rebuilt it from an engineering firm into an integrated energy platform; he has more than thirty years in strategic investment and renewable energy. The Ukrainian portfolio he has assembled is independently valued by BDO at close to €2.5 billion across renewables and infrastructure, with twenty-eight large projects at the shovel-ready stage.
Information on the platform and its leadership is stated as published by ELQ Investments. It is verified in due diligence before any commitment by the fund.
The opportunity
Ukraine had 54.5 GW of installed capacity in 2014. Less than 10 GW is available today. That gap is not a forecast — it is a measured winter deficit of roughly 6 GW, and the reconstruction need for the energy sector alone is quantified at USD 90.6 billion.
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity in 2014 | 54.5 GW |
| Available capacity today | less than 10 GW |
| Peak winter deficit | approximately 6 GW |
| Reconstruction need of the energy sector | USD 90.6 billion |
The base case comprises fourteen projects at the shovel-ready stage: land rights secured, environmental permits obtained and grid connection terms issued. That matters — it removes the development phase, which is precisely where most Ukrainian energy projects stall.
An integrated decentralised ecosystem of more than 1.1 GW, deliberately spread across regions and technologies rather than concentrated in one large asset that a single strike could take out.
Technology
Financing
The published capital structure at the level of an individual project. Falanga would sit in the third layer.
| Capital layer | Share |
|---|---|
| Project equity on the ELQ side | roughly 10% |
| International institutions and development finance | approximately 60% |
| Other private investors (Falanga's layer) | around 30% |
Cash flows from the earliest projects are intended to carry the later phases, which lowers the peak funding requirement but also makes the date of first commissioning a critical dependency for everything behind it.
Capacity and market data are stated as published by ELQ Investments; the reconstruction estimate is a figure for the sector, not a total amount for Ukraine. The composition of the portfolio and the stage of readiness are verified in due diligence.
The fund's participation
Two separate things are under consideration: an equity stake in the ELQ Investments platform and co-financing at the level of the individual Ukrainian project companies. They carry different risks and cannot be read as a single commitment.
A minority participation in ELQ Investments, giving exposure to the whole portfolio rather than to one asset, and at the same time to the development margin as projects move from shovel-ready to operating.
Capital alongside international institutions in individual ring-fenced Ukrainian SPVs, sized project by project and drawn against construction milestones instead of as a single commitment.
Dr Marcin Sołtysiak is a co-owner of the Falanga Invest fund and at the same time the 95% shareholder and chief executive of ELQ S.A. and the person behind ELQ Investments. The transaction described would therefore be the acquisition of a stake in a company controlled by one of the fund's owners. A fund for qualified investors may enter into such a transaction, but for it to be defensible it requires an arm's-length process:
An independent valuation of the stake, commissioned by the fund and not by the seller.
Approval by the investment committee, with the conflicted person abstaining from the vote and that abstention recorded.
Disclosure of the terms to investors before subscription, not after it.
Nothing stated here may be read as confirmation that these steps have been taken.
Ongoing war — the assets are being built in a country under attack. Generation and grid infrastructure have been targeted repeatedly. Physical loss is a realistic scenario, not a tail risk.
Insurance — war-risk cover for Ukrainian energy assets is limited and expensive. The availability and price of cover, and what is in fact excluded from it, are a precondition of any commitment.
Offtake and tariff — revenue depends on the Ukrainian wholesale market, on payments for ancillary services and on the counterparty's ability to pay in a wartime economy.
Currency — costs in euros, revenue in hryvnia. Currency indexation forms part of the platform's framework, but it does not remove the exposure.
Grid access — connection terms have been issued, but a damaged transmission system may leave a completed power plant unable to deliver.
Concentration — the energy layer at Rudniki and this portfolio share a single partner group. A problem at ELQ would affect both at once.
Overview
A transaction under consideration. No binding undertaking has been given and none arises from this book. Any investment is subject to due diligence, independent valuation, the terms of the sub-fund prospectus (statut) and approval by the investment committee of AVANT investiční společnost, a.s.
Investment studies, contractual documentation and the data room are made available to qualified investors after an initial meeting and the signing of an NDA.
