Marsons Limited, an India-based EHV power transformer manufacturer, and Cleanhill Partners, a New York-based private equity firm focused on energy and digital infrastructure, have announced plans to form a joint venture to expand transformer distribution, service and manufacturing operations across the United States and Canada. The proposed partnership comes as North America faces constraints in transformer manufacturing capacity, with lead times for some equipment exceeding 24 months. Utilities, renewable energy developers and other power infrastructure companies are increasingly seeking diversified supply chains and reliable access to transformer equipment.
Marsons is currently executing transformer orders for major US renewable energy and utility projects, including generator step-up transformers of up to 200 MVA and pad-mounted units across multiple locations. The proposed joint venture will combine Marsons’ engineering and manufacturing capabilities and project experience in the US with Cleanhill Partners’ market network, capital and operational expertise.
The companies plan to initially focus on transformer distribution and service operations, with a longer-term objective of establishing full-scale transformer manufacturing capabilities in North America. The proposed expansion is expected to address demand arising from grid modernisation, renewable energy projects and the growing power requirements of data centres.
Ash Upadhyaya and Rakesh Wilson, Managing Partners at Cleanhill Partners, said, “This partnership reflects Cleanhill’s investment thesis that power infrastructure is essential to meeting North America’s growing energy needs. Marsons brings proven manufacturing capabilities, strong engineering credentials, and established execution in the U.S. market. Together, we believe we can build a significant platform serving utilities, developers, data centers, and other critical infrastructure customers.”
Harshvardhan Kotia, CEO of Marsons Limited, said, “Cleanhill’s portfolio demonstrates a deep conviction in the infrastructure stack underlying the energy transition and growing energy demand. We are already executing transformers for major U.S. projects and have established customer relationships in the renewable and utility sectors. This joint venture gives us the capital, market reach, and operational support to accelerate from project-byproject execution toward becoming a strategic infrastructure partner across North America.”
Marsons is the only EHV power transformer manufacturer in Eastern India and the Northeast Region and has the largest installed capacity in the region. The company operates a 45,000-square-metre manufacturing facility with a current annual capacity of 12,000 MVA, which is being expanded to 26,000 MVA. It manufactures transformers rated from 11 kV to 345 kV and beyond.
The company holds approvals from Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). It has 70 years of design and manufacturing experience and is currently executing transformer orders for renewable energy and utility-scale projects in the US.
Cleanhill Partners invests in power generation, energy storage, grid modernisation, domestic manufacturing and related technologies. Its portfolio includes Jule Power and FTC Solar, while the firm recently announced the sale of EPC Power, a designer and manufacturer of power conversion systems for data centres, utility-scale energy storage and microgrids.
