Exarchou Pushes AKTOR Into Energy’s Big League: €1.2bn Pumped-Storage Bet and More Than 1 GW of Capacity

The acquisition of Aliakmonas 1 and Aliakmonas 2 gives AKTOR Renewables a strategic position in large-scale energy storage and reinforces the Group’s transformation into an integrated infrastructure and energy player

A transaction that goes well beyond another corporate acquisition is opening a new chapter in AKTOR Group’s growth strategy under Alexandros Exarchou.

AKTOR Renewables, a wholly owned subsidiary of AKTOR, has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of Aliakmonas 1 IKE and Aliakmonas 2 IKE, the companies developing two major pumped-storage projects in Western Macedonia.

Once fully licensed, developed and constructed, the projects are expected to represent a total investment of approximately €1.2 billion, with a development horizon of around six years.

More importantly, the two assets together carry licensed maximum injection capacity of 1,044 MW and maximum absorption capacity of 1,050 MW.

The scale alone immediately places the transaction among the most significant energy-storage moves currently under development in Greece.

From construction group to strategic energy infrastructure player

The real significance of the deal lies in the sector AKTOR is entering at scale.

Pumped storage is effectively one of the largest forms of electricity storage available to a power system.

When renewable generation exceeds demand, electricity can be used to pump water to an elevated reservoir. When demand rises or renewable production falls, that water can be released to generate electricity again.

As Greece adds increasing volumes of intermittent solar and wind power, storage becomes indispensable.

The question for the energy transition is no longer simply how much renewable electricity can be generated.

It is increasingly how that electricity can be stored, shifted across time and supplied when the system needs it most.

AKTOR is positioning itself precisely at that point.

Flampouro and Trani Rachi: More than 1 GW in two projects

Aliakmonas 1 is developing the Flampouro pumped-storage project, which has a storage licence for maximum injection capacity of 450 MW and maximum absorption capacity of 450 MW.

Aliakmonas 2 is the project company behind Trani Rachi, licensed for maximum injection of 594 MW and maximum absorption of 600 MW.

Together, the two projects create a portfolio exceeding 1 GW in scale.

Environmental approvals have already been issued, giving the projects a meaningful degree of maturity, although further licensing, grid-connection terms and financing arrangements are still required before construction can proceed.

This distinction matters: the €1.2 billion figure refers to the expected investment upon full maturation and development, rather than capital that has already been committed or deployed.

The Exarchou strategy: Building synergies rather than isolated assets

One of the defining features of the strategy pursued under Alexandros Exarchou has been the effort to create businesses that reinforce one another.

Pumped storage sits almost perfectly between two of AKTOR’s core areas:

construction and energy.

The Group already possesses extensive technical capabilities, infrastructure experience, engineering expertise and the ability to execute large and complex projects.

Through AKTOR Renewables, it is simultaneously building exposure to energy assets with long operating lives and strategic value for the electricity system.

That creates a fundamentally different corporate model from the traditional contractor.

AKTOR’s ambition is increasingly to participate across a project’s entire life cycle — from development and engineering to construction, ownership and operation.

Why €1.2 billion is not the most important number

The size of the proposed investment is striking.

But strategically, the direction of the capital may matter even more.

Europe’s first phase of the energy transition was dominated by the rapid build-out of renewable generation.

Its next phase increasingly revolves around storage, grids and flexibility.

High penetration of renewables can produce hours of abundant and extremely cheap electricity, but it can also create curtailments when production exceeds what the grid can absorb.

Large-scale storage helps turn that excess production into useful energy available later.

Pumped-storage facilities can therefore become some of the most important balancing assets in an electricity market increasingly dominated by variable renewable generation.

Western Macedonia gets another role in Greece’s energy transformation

The geographic location also carries substantial strategic importance.

Western Macedonia has historically been at the heart of Greece’s lignite-based electricity system and is now one of the main regions undergoing an economic and energy transformation.

Large pumped-storage projects could help give the region a new role in the post-lignite energy economy.

Beyond the direct investment, such infrastructure can support engineering activity, skilled employment and the development of a new generation of energy assets in an area that has long been central to Greece’s power system.

The deal therefore has significance not only for AKTOR but also for the country’s wider transition strategy.

Financing through equity and debt

AKTOR estimates that full development and construction of the two facilities will require approximately €1.2 billion.

The investment is expected to be financed through a combination of equity and external financing.

The projected implementation period is approximately six years.

The acquisition agreement remains subject to customary closing conditions, while further development of the projects depends on completing the relevant licensing procedures, securing grid-connection terms and obtaining the necessary financing.

This is an ambitious pipeline rather than a finished asset — but its scale is precisely what makes the transaction strategically important.

AKTOR’s bigger ambition: Becoming an energy group

The transaction becomes even more significant when viewed as part of the wider transformation of AKTOR.

Exarchou has consistently pushed the Group beyond the limits of a conventional construction company toward a diversified infrastructure, concessions and energy platform.

Pumped storage fits that ambition particularly well.

It is simultaneously a major engineering undertaking, a strategic energy facility and a long-duration infrastructure asset.

With one transaction, AKTOR gains exposure to more than 1 GW of licensed storage projects while also creating potential synergies with its construction capabilities.

A bet on where the market is going

The eventual value of the investment will depend on execution: licensing, financing, construction discipline and the economics of the future electricity market.

But the strategic signal is already clear.

AKTOR is not waiting for Greece’s energy transition to reach maturity before deciding where it wants to stand.

It is positioning itself today in the infrastructure that will become increasingly necessary as renewable power occupies a larger share of the system.

That may ultimately be the most important dimension of Exarchou’s move.

AKTOR is not merely buying two development companies.

It is buying a strategic position in one of the markets likely to define the next phase of Greece’s energy system.

Πηγή: pagenews.gr