A new strategic partnership between Cela and the IFC aims to prepare banks and investors to boost the battery market, essential for the expansion of clean energy in Latin America.
Clean Energy Latin America (Cela) has formalized an alliance with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, to launch a training program focused on the energy storage market.
The central objective is to equip financial agents with the necessary technical skills to enable investments in battery systems, known as BESS (an acronym for Battery Energy Storage Systems).
The initiative arrives at a strategic moment, when financing is becoming the bottleneck for project scalability.
By integrating the content into the Green Banking Academy (GBAC), the IFC intends to disseminate expertise among development banks, investors, and regulators, creating a safer and more transparent environment for allocating capital to energy transition technologies in Brazil and throughout the Caribbean and Latin American region.
Technical Training to Unlock Financing
Cela, led by Camila Ramos, will be technically responsible for curating the educational content.
The focus will be on demystifying BESS technology, addressing everything from operational specifics to the complex business models that define the bankability of these assets in the electricity sector.
Camila Ramos highlighted:
The effective growth of storage depends, in addition to technical and regulatory progress, on the financial market’s ability to manage risks and understand the real opportunities in this sector. Our partnership with the IFC establishes a direct channel between the industry and major credit providers.
Course Structure and Next Steps
The program will be designed in two distinct tracks. One track will focus on an introduction, designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the energy transition, while the second stage will focus on practical application.
The latter will allow executives to deepen their knowledge in critical areas such as financial modeling, due diligence, insurance assessment, and the development of customized financial products for hybrid projects, which combine solar generation and batteries.
Flexibility is one of the highlights of the initiative, which will include training sessions, workshops, roundtables, and regional seminars.
The proposal is that this movement will not only strengthen the energy sector but also position the region’s financial institutions at the forefront of the low-carbon economy.
Expanding access to this specialized knowledge is a fundamental step in transforming growing interest in storage projects into tangible financial reality, fostering the resilience of the regional energy matrix.
