At last month’s COP27 climate conference, the European Investment Fund (EIF), Europe’s largest venture capital and private equity financier, signed investments totalling €247 million to enable five equity funds to back €2.5 billion of climate action investment that helps to deliver the European Union’s climate and energy targets.
The new financing contributes to the European Green Deal, the roadmap for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, and REPowerEU, the plan to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition.
The investment agreed — backed by the InvestEU programme — will enable the fund managers to reach a first close or attain their target fund size.
The EIF has committed:
- €28 million to the Growth Blue Fund I, a private equity fund focusing on the blue economy, sustainable economic activities relating to the oceans. It will mainly invest in Portuguese small and medium companies across all sectors.
- €30 million to PureTerra Ventures, a water technology early growth fund, which invests in small and medium enterprises across the European Union scaling game-changing technologies to radically alter the usage, conservation and treatment of water. PureTerra is the first of its kind specialist water-focused fund in Europe and the first water-focused investment in the EIF’s venture capital portfolio.
- €39 million to the Zintinus Fund I, a venture capital fund focused on growth stage investments in sustainable food innovation across Europe, in particular alternative proteins, functional food, clean nutrition and food waste reduction.
- €75 million to the SUMA Capital Climate Impact Fund III, an infrastructure fund targeting greenfield energy transition and circular economy projects predominantly in Spain.
- 75 million to the Eiffel Transition Infrastructure Fund, an innovative fund designed to provide equity bridge financing for renewable energy infrastructure assets in Europe.
The signatures signal a clear direction of travel for the EIF. The Fund will play a key role in the delivery of the EIB Group’s contribution to REPowerEU, with a dedicated and additional envelope for EIF equity investments in funds to support innovative companies and the European Union’s path to net zero.
EIF Chief Investment Officer Alessandro Tappi said: “Contributing to the European Union’s green transition agenda is a top priority for the EIF and the EIB Group. This has become even more important and urgent given the current energy crisis. We are therefore very happy to invest in five equity funds that will make a crucial contribution to the energy transition in a variety of sectors, from water to food and infrastructure. Signing these commitments at COP27 sends a strong market signal that investing in green business models and technologies is possible and vital to our common future.”
EIB Vice-President and EIF Board member Gelsomina Vigliotti added: “Today’s new commitment will mobilise €2.5 billion of private sector climate investment and demonstrates how harnessing the expertise and focus of venture capital and private equity is accelerating high-impact climate-focused investment.”
EIB Vice-President responsible for the financing of environment and climate action and EIF Board member Ambroise Fayolle said: “The EIF’s support for private sector investment confirmed today will scale up the deployment of green technologies and develop innovative solutions to contribute to reaching Europe’s climate targets. This shows how the EIB Group is scaling up climate finance to tackle the climate emergency.”
European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni said: “The green transition must be accelerated and cannot be delayed. The InvestEU programme seeks to mobilise private investments to help drive the support needed to deliver that transition. The agreements signed are clear evidence of this, as well as of InvestEU’s role in helping to make sustainable investment projects across the European Union a reality.”
Manager at Growth Blue Miguel Herédia said: “Growth Blue shares the vision of a more sustainable economic model and the decarbonisation of our societies and production methods. We are certain that the ocean will play a critical role in this transition since it is one of the few alternatives to produce protein, energy or new materials to supply an increasing demand boosted by a growing population. We also need to protect the ocean from the impact of world’s current economic model. We believe we can do this by providing both sustainability and returns for our investors.”
“Water is the foundation of life, yet undervalued by most. The overall water cycle is broken and its repair is long overdue,” said Job van Schelven, partner at PureTerra Ventures. “The European Investment Fund subscribes to PureTerra’s ambition: clean water for all. PureTerra’s partners are grateful to InvestEU and the Dutch Future Fund for valuing the necessity of water expertise and entrepreneurial experience for scaling solutions to maximise impact. With the commitment to water, the European Investment Fund is leading the financial markets in recognising the need and the opportunities inherent in water distress.”
“The transition of the food system is one of the biggest challenges and opportunities of our time. We are fully committed to supporting young companies in this space and helping them on their growth journey. Having the EIF as a partner is a privilege and a great encouragement.” said Olaf Koch, partner at ZINTINUS.
Suma Capital Climate Impact Fund III CEO Enrique Tombas said: “We are delighted to have the support of the EIF in our third-generation infrastructure impact fund to fight against climate change. We have been developing this activity for the last ten years, with our firm purpose of committing to building the future that we believe in, more inclusive and decarbonised.”
Head of Infrastructure at Eiffel Pierre-Antoine Machelon said: “By providing much-needed equity alongside midsized independent renewable energy developers and power producers, the Eiffel Transition Infrastructure fund accelerates the development of new renewable energy capacities, helping Europe achieve energy sovereignty and generating a significant positive impact on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.”
The signatures took place at an EIF side event at COP27 about “The contribution of European Venture Capital, Private Equity and Infrastructure Funds to the EU Green Deal.” The event, which discussed the main impediments to scaling up investment in the energy transition, included a keynote speech by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and was moderated by EIF Chief Investment Officer Alessandro Tappi. It brought together a panel of three EIF-supported fund managers with strong green strategies: Nicolas Piau, co-founder and CEO of TiLT Capital Partners, Julia Padberg, partner at SET Ventures, and Michal Kurtyka, strategy advisor at Eiffel Investment Group.