Zenith Energy
Zenith Energy (Zenith) is a leading power producer that integrates thermal and sustainable fuel sources to support its clients in decarbonising their mine sites.
Need
With demand for hybrid energy accelerating across the mining sector, Zenith has rapidly scaled its operations. Delivering larger and more complex projects meant a growing need for capital, and to continue to deliver for its clients, Zenith required significant funding to refinance existing debt and support new developments.
Solution
We provided an $80 million loan as part of a $1.9 billion syndicated refinancing and upsizing of bank debt facilities for Zenith – support we were able to offer because of Zenith’s integral role in Australia’s export supply chains. Our participation helped close a key liquidity gap and gave other lenders the confidence to invest, allowing Zenith to move forward with its next phase of growth.
Zenith is a leading Australian power producer, delivering hybrid power systems to remote, off-grid mining operations across Australia. Its solutions integrate renewable energy sources, including solar, wind and battery storage, with thermal energy sources (predominantly LNG generation), helping mining operations run more sustainably and reliably.
Zenith’s hybrid power systems enable mine sites to operate using up to 85% renewable energy, cutting emissions and improving energy efficiency in remote environments. Its solutions have quickly gained traction across large mine sites and are in high demand.
Since 2021, Zenith has undergone a significant transformation, delivering larger hybrid renewable projects for its clients. As these projects have become bigger in scope, they’ve become more capital intensive, and Zenith turned to us to help refinance its debt and continue its growth trajectory.
Having solution-focused partners is really important when looking to secure funding to support Zenith’s rapidly growing business. Export Finance Australia is there to help Zenith achieve its goals – it really worked as a partner
Tim Cipolloni
Chief Financial Officer, Zenith Energy
Scaling to support decarbonisation across the mining sector
In 2024, Zenith embarked on a $1.9 billion debt refinancing journey to strengthen its capital structure and support its growing pipeline. With a tight timeline and multiple stakeholders involved, the business needed finance partners that could move quickly and provide certainty. Our financial support proved crucial to the success of these efforts.
Tim Cipolloni, Zenith’s Chief Financial Officer, highlighted that our participation in the debt financing helped give other lenders the confidence to participate too.
We joined a syndicate of 14 lenders to help fill a key liquidity gap for Zenith, sending a strong signal to the broader market. “Export Finance Australia’s support is a great endorsement for what we're doing,” Tim said. “It really helped us bring in other lenders and gave our customers confidence in our ability to fund future projects.”
Preparing for further growth
Zenith is now well-positioned to continue its growth and is looking forward to its next phase of growth, with plans to continue raising the level of funding to support its future projects.
Our support for Zenith underscores our commitment to backing Australian businesses that contribute to the country's export supply chain. Through our finance, we are helping Zenith deliver sustainable power solutions to the mining industry and contribute to Australia's transition towards a more sustainable future.
With refinancing in place and strong support from new and existing lenders, Zenith is now well-positioned for the next stage of growth, continuing to deliver sustainable infrastructure that supports the decarbonisation of Australia’s mining sector.
“Having a partner like Export Finance Australia in our lender group is a strong endorsement of Zenith’s strategy and delivery capability,” Tim added. “They were solution-focused and committed to helping us achieve our goals.”
