The London Energy Efficiency and Decentralised Generation Fund (EDGE Fund)
Key information
- This fund supports: large-scale green projects.
- Who can apply: private and public sector energy projects based in London. Organisations are likely to be high energy users.
- Finance amount: minimum £10million investment.
- Repayment terms: 10-30 years.
- How to apply: start by emailing SDCL to discuss your project: [email protected].
About this fund
The London Energy Efficiency and Decentralised Generation Fund (EDGE Fund) offers a complete ‘energy-as-a-service’ (EaaS) solution. Unlike a traditional debt fund, the EDGE Fund provides support beyond only finance.
The fund’s goal is to help public and private sector organisations to move towards net zero and achieve:
- bigger utility cost savings
- lower carbon emissions
- better energy security and resilience.
London EDGE Fund is a partnership with Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL), who independently manage the fund.
The Mayor is an investor in the London EDGE Fund. In November 2023, the Mayor invested £50 million to fund. SDCL contributed the same amount. This gave a total starting fund size of £100 million.
By working in partnership, the GLA and SDCL are increasing the available capital for green projects in London. The fund is managed by SDCL, and the Mayor and Greater London Authority (GLA) do not direct the fund's investment decisions.
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Watch the video introduction to the London EDGE Fund.
What the fund offers
London EDGE Fund provides the necessary financing, as well as support for development, construction and operation of energy-efficient and decentralised energy projects.
The key benefits:
- Covers costs: the EDGE fund covers up to 100 per cent of the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and ongoing Operational Expenditure (OPEX) of projects. This frees up time and capital for businesses to spend on their core business activities.
- No construction or development risk: EDGE will be responsible for delivering projects on time, in budget, and in line with agreed KPIs. EDGE contracts with agreed delivery partners, with option to use the applicant’s existing supply chain where desired.
- Operational risk transfer: EDGE to have O&M responsibility to ensure system delivers comprehensive solution that satisfies requirements of the applicant.
The fund will capitalise a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to deliver the project. The project sponsor will provide regular payments to the SPV. Consideration will be given to public ownership and public control when required.
Alternative service models can be explored if the EaaS model does not deliver the desired outcomes for you or SDCL.
Eligibility
London EDGE is open to both private and public sector energy projects in London. The fund helps organisations that are facing:
- more challenges around reliability, resilience and sustainability
- higher costs in upgrading to low-carbon energy solutions.
Typically, applicants are large energy users, such as hospitals, hotels, data centres or education facilities.
The EDGE Fund supports a wide range of decarbonisation technologies, including:
- Energy efficiency measures - such as LED lighting, building management systems (BMS), and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) upgrades.
- Low-carbon transportation - such as electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and enabling systems.
- Decentralised on-site generation – such as heat pumps, solar PV, battery energy storage systems (BESS), wind turbines, or a combination of these to create a behind-the-meter microgrid.
All projects must use proven technology (TRL 9 stage).
How it works
1. Screening
Initial screening to ensure alignment with EDGE mandate and applicant’s objectives.
2. Feasibility
Preliminary analysis to identify cost-effective and low carbon options that are most suitable for the project and applicant objectives. The information needed for feasibility assessments will vary.
3. Design and engineering
Detailed feasibility and design work to prepare final capital and installation costs.
4. Contracting
Detailed technical, legal, financial and insurance due diligence. EDGE Fund final investment decision.
5. Turn-key implementation
Project construction using agreed EPC contractor. EDGE SPV takes construction and delivery responsibility and risk.
6. Operation
Operation of the projects, which are maintained by agreed O&M contractor. Monitoring and verification of performance to confirm KPIs.
Contact us
London EDGE Fund is open for enquiries. Email SDCL to discuss your project: [email protected].
SDCL are working to deploy capital in 2026. Find more information on the SDCL London EDGE page.
More information and FAQs
London EDGE can engage with projects at either an early or matured stage, with the expectation that they will be construction-ready and able to draw down funding within 12 months.
The information required for London EDGE to carry out feasibility assessments will vary depending on the project type, underlying infrastructure assets, and specific client needs.
Zero Carbon Accelerator (ZCA) typically engages with decarbonisation infrastructure projects at an early stage, supporting their development to become ready for financing and construction.
London EDGE can be one of the financing solutions for projects in the ZCA pipeline, alongside other London Climate Finance Facilities (LCFF).
London EDGE can also engage even earlier in the process to help address technical gaps identified by ZCA and provide support in project development where needed.
EDGE is technology agnostic, although it has partnerships with multiple delivery partners.
EDGE’s approach is to select the best technical and delivery partners in any given local market. This ensures the highest standards of design, delivery, local knowledge, engineering, delivery and operations.
It is not constrained by using a limited internal resource of engineers. But instead maintains excellent internal engineering and project management expertise to secure the best contractual partners in any market.
ESCOs and London EDGE’s Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) equity investment models both offer-off balance sheet solution to improve energy efficiency and sustainability, but there are some differences in structure, financing, and risk-sharing.
Here's a comparison:
The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and London ’s Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) equity investment models are two distinct financing and investment models.
Below is a comparison of the two:
Explore more net zero funds and support
The Mayor’s Green Finance Fund will lend up to £500m to projects that help London meet its net zero ambitions.
The Mayor of London's Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF) is a £500m investment fund to deliver the low carbon projects,
The Mayor of London’s Zero Carbon Accelerator will continue to drive forward the pace of cutting carbon emissions from buildings and London.
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