Inside Germany's First Subsidy-Free Hybrid PPA

In August 2026, MaxSolar and DB Energie GmbH (the energy manager for Deutsche Bahn) signed Germany's first hybrid PPA for an unsubsidised solar-plus-storage asset.

The deal followed months of groundwork. During the early conceptualisation phase of the co-location strategy for the company, MaxSolar’s commercial team conducted extensive market analysis, including a joint Hybrid PPA tender via LevelTen to assess different product structures and price ranges for corporate buyers. This groundwork ultimately supported multiple transactions throughout the year.

We sat down with Anwar Darwich, Commercial Director at MaxSolar, to get his insight on how the deal came together, how risk was shared, and what the agreement tells us about the next generation of PPAs in Europe.

You took several structures to market and landed on co-located Green BESS. What drove that choice: buyer demand, physical or regulatory constraints, or the treatment of GOs?

The decision to structure the project as a co-located PV + green BESS asset was primarily driven by the value proposition of combining renewable generation with flexibility. We see hybridisation as a natural evolution of the renewable energy market. It allows better utilisation of scarce grid connection capacity and creates additional value by shifting generation into hours that are more valuable for the offtaker. The objective was to create a product that offers greater planning certainty and delivery flexibility than a standalone solar PPA. The green BESS enables us to reshape generation while preserving the renewable character of the electricity supplied.

What should buyers and sellers bear in mind when negotiating a Green BESS structure?

The key challenge is that a hybrid PPA combines elements of a traditional renewable PPA with storage flexibility services. Parties therefore need to align on:

- Dispatch and charging restrictions

- Availability definitions for both the PV plant andthe battery

- Forecasting, balancing and nomination responsibilities

- Treatment of curtailment, redispatch andregulatory changes

- Performance guarantees and measurement concepts

- Since market standards are still evolving, significant effort is required to establish a commercial and technical framework that works for all parties.

Under a pay-as-nominated settlement arrangement, day-ahead forecasting and balancing risk sits with you rather than DB Energie. How did you get comfortable holding that risk for ten years, and who decides when the battery charges and discharges?

In our structure, MaxSolar agrees to...

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