Nick Evans writes that Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), the Denmark-based investment firm that is the world’s largest asset manager in the greenfield renewable energy sector, has announced the final close of its new CI Energy Transition Fund 1 at the hard cap of EUR3 billion.
The firm says the CI ETF 1 vehicle, which was oversubscribed on the back of strong demand from institutional investors, is the largest dedicated clean hydrogen fund globally – underlining the strength of global investor appetite for energy transition investments.
CIP said the fundraise had generated commitments from a broad range of global investors – spanning the Nordics (at around 25 per cent of commitments), Europe (45 per cent), Asia Pacific (20 per cent) and North America (roughly 10 per cent) – with approximately a 50/50 split between existing investors in CIP funds and new investors.
According to the firm, the fund’s investor base comprises some 65 institutional investors – primarily pension funds, life insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers, and family offices.
The CI ETF I fund will invest in next-generation renewable energy infrastructure including industrial-scale Power-to-X (PtX) projects – enabling institutional investors to participate in the decarbonisation of the so-called ‘hard to abate’ industries and to support the further integration of renewable power generation in the energy mix through grid balancing.
“The fund will primarily focus on greenfield projects in the OECD and aims to contribute to the decarbonisation of industries such as agriculture, aviation, shipping, chemical manufacturing, and steel production through the use of green fuels and feedstock and CO2-free fertilisers,” the firm said in a statement.
“We are very pleased to welcome a prominent group of existing and new institutional investors to CI ETF I and are delighted that investors share our confidence in and appetite for clean energy infrastructure projects and will invest alongside CIP in the next phase of the energy transition,” says Jakob Baruël Poulsen, managing partner at CIP.
He adds: “Solutions such as Power-to-X will be key for countries and industries to take the next big leap within reaching the commitments of the Paris Agreement and achieving energy independence. As an industry pioneer and one of the global market leaders in greenfield renewable infrastructure investments, CIP is uniquely positioned to invest in this segment.”
CIP said the new fund is already actively involved in “several attractive industrial-scale development stage PtX projects with diverse exposure to production technologies and offtake markets”.
These projects – which range across several countries in western Europe (Denmark, Norway, Spain, and Portugal), as well as South America (Chile) and Australia – are expected to produce green hydrogen, green ammonia, and sustainable aviation fuel based on GW-scale renewable energy production and electrolysis capacity.
Once operational, CI ETF I’s portfolio is estimated to reduce more than 7.5 million tonnes of CO2 annually (the equivalent to removing some 1.6 million cars from the roads permanently, according to CIP) and to deliver more than 4 million tonnes of green fuels every year.
Founded in 2012, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has grown to become the world’s largest dedicated fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments and a global leader in offshore wind.
The funds managed by CIP focus on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy, and Power-to-X.
CIP manages 10 funds and has so far raised nearly EUR20 billion for investments in energy and associated infrastructure projects from more than 135 international institutional investors.
The firm – which has some 340 employees across offices in in Copenhagen, London, Hamburg, Utrecht, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, and Melbourne – is accelerating its role in the global energy transition, aiming to have EUR100 billion under management in green energy investments by 2030.
