BNP Paribas has partnered with EDF ENR, a subsidiary of French electric utility company EDF, aiming to refinance a solar energy project involving renewable energy bond tokenisation.
The firm structured, tokenised and distributed a bond, the capital of which will be employed to refinance a solar energy project that is already sponsored by EDF ENR.
As the first renewable energy bond tokenisation of its kind on the project financing market, BNP Paribas says the digital asset will broaden the scope and increase the efficiency of project financing, including higher transparency of environmental, social and governance (ESG) data along the value chain.
Tokenisation provides greater granularity for smaller amounts of ESG-linked financing, enabling an approach that can facilitate the development of smaller renewable energy projects by offering dynamic bundling opportunities to investors.
For the transaction, BNP Paribas leveraged its tokenisation platform AssetFoundry and used utility tokens minted with low carbon energy by EDF subsidiary Exaion, to ensure clean energy usage of the blockchain.
The transaction also tested token reversibility, as the tokenised bond was switched back to a traditional bond within 48 hours. According to BNP Paribas, this is a key element for the interoperability with traditional systems.
Speaking on the announcement, David Bouchoucha, head of private debt and real assets at BNP Paribas Asset Management, says: “Innovation and sustainability are at the heart of our investment philosophy for private debt investing.
“Tokenisation and blockchain are opening exciting new opportunities to diversify portfolios for our clients hence our commitment to work with strong partners on those new developments.”
Arnaud Boyer, chief digital officer at BNP Paribas Corporate and Institutional Banking, adds: “This trade, based on tokenisation for renewable financing, is the first of its kind, and fully aligned with the Bank’s development plan: “Growth, Technology and Sustainability 2025”.”
