Paris, 22 September 2026 – Jeantet advised Sorégies, France’s 4th largest energy company on the electricity segment, on its acquisition of a stake in Next Step Energy (NSE), a French developer and operator of pumped-storage hydropower plants (STEP), alongside its historical shareholders, Tenergie and Envinergy. This transaction is part of the Sorégies 2030 strategic plan, supported by an overall investment programme of €1.5 billion, including €250 million dedicated to flexibility solutions.

Next Step Energy, a French developer and operator of pumped-storage hydropower plants (STEP), is welcoming Sorégies as a new shareholder alongside its historical shareholders, Tenergie and Envinergy. This alliance with France’s 4th largest energy company on the electricity segment gives Next Step Energy the resources to take a new step in its development and to consolidate its position as leader in small-scale pumped-storage hydropower in France. This transaction is part of the Sorégies 2030 strategic plan, supported by an overall investment programme of €1.5 billion.

An alliance dedicated to hydraulic energy storage

Next Step Energy was founded in 2022 by Tenergie, an independent developer and producer specialising in renewable energies, and Envinergy, a leading player in hydroelectricity for 50 years. With Sorégies joining as a shareholder, the new balance among the shareholders creates an alliance between three players with complementary expertise: project development, financial engineering, mastery of small-scale hydroelectricity, and aggregation of generation and flexibility services.

For the Grenoble-based company, this transaction offers the opportunity to preserve its agility and entrepreneurial DNA, while leveraging the strength and expertise of a leading integrated energy company.

The new generation of pumped-storage hydropower plants enters a concrete phase

This partnership will finance the development of more than 350 MW of projects over the next three years and the construction of the first 70 MW of pumped-storage hydropower plants, thereby contributing significantly to the objectives set out in the third Multiannual Energy Programme (PPE 3): +1.7 GW of pumped-storage capacity by 2035. Significant milestones have already been achieved by the company in recent months, including the selection by the French Energy Regulatory Commission of its 12 MW project in Ajaccio and the granting of the first Prefectural Order for a pumped-storage hydropower plant in mainland France. These future facilities will be the first new pumped-storage hydropower plants built in France in more than forty years.

With a lifespan of more than 100 years, using French technologies free of rare earth elements, and with an efficiency of more than 75%, they have become an indispensable flexibility tool for the French and European energy system. A new support framework, with State-guaranteed tariffs, is currently under discussion in order to support their revival.

The Jeantet team that advised Sorégies on this transaction was coordinated by Adrien Fourmon, partner. The transaction was led by Wyssam Mansour, partner, with Aude Cassaigne, associate, on the M&A aspects. Adrien Fourmon and Ananova Lohmann handled the regulatory aspects. Caroline André-Hesse, partner, and Anissa Froz advised on the employment law aspects.