Aim-listed Kibo Energy has signed a collaboration agreement that will result in it establishing a strategic partnership with Steag Energy Services (SES) to further develop and advance Kibo’s energy portfolio.

SES is a German engineering and operations and maintenance (O&M) company within Steag’s group of companies.

Steag group, as an independent power producer (IPP), operates and manages more than 6 600 MW of its own power plants worldwide, the majority of which are coal-fired, but also operates 6 700 MW of thermal power plants for third-party clients.

SES’s portfolio includes a range of power generation technologies, including fossil fuel and renewable sources.

“SES is a world-class international role-player in the energy sector, not only in Germany, but also across the globe,” Kibo CEO Louis Coetzee commented in a statement issued on Monday.

He said SES’s confidence served as a testament to the progress and value proposition of Kibo’s project portfolio.

He also noted that the company would benefit greatly from SES’s experience, specifically in respect of managing and operating utility-scale power plants. 

“Should SES be awarded an O&M contract on any of the Kibo projects, we are confident that the quality, intensity and dedication that SES employs on its own power projects will be replicated on Kibo’s to great benefit,” he noted.

“What is perhaps most exciting is the depth of knowledge and range of skills and experience that SES brings with it,” he added.

Kibo is developing three integrated coal and power plant projects in Africa and holds a 60% interest in Mast Energy Developments (MED), a UK company that is targeting the development and operation of flexible power plants.

Kibo in June announced that it had acquired a 100% direct interest in the shovel-ready 5 MW gas-fuelled Bordersley reserve power generation project, in the UK. MED will develop and manage the plant, which will be commissioned by the end of the first quarter of 2020.