Various international venture capital and private equity firms have recently launched energy funds and new holdings in renewable energy start-ups primarily in Europe and the United States. Here are a few to consider actionable.
1. Demeter Partners
Company Summary:
Demeter Partners is a European multi-national renewables investment firm headquartered in Paris with two offices in southern France as well as Madrid, Spain. Demeter is a major player towards financing sustainable start-ups with investments ranging from $1M to $30M. Their leadership is spearheaded by CFO Corinne Roussel and Managing Partners Stephane Villecroze and Sophie Paturle-Guesnerot.
Investments/Funds:
Demeter just announced a partnership with German-based Munich Venture Partners to create a joint European venture capital fund of close to $280 million for the purpose of investing in European start-ups looking to develop sustainable technology in the world of renewable energy. The deal also has the option to be upped to around $450 million pending approval by the French government of a Late Stage Initiative – a current effort by French President Emmanuel Macron to bolster sustainable start-ups with close to 5 billion euros committed of institutional capital.
Additionally, Demeter also announced an investment in CityScoot, a growing French company that supplies free-floating electric scooters to major cities like Paris, Milan, and Rome. The investment is worth $26.3 million and comes primarily from the Fonds de Modernisation Ecologique des Transports (FMET), an active fund for modern ecological transportation developments.
2. Greencoat Capital
Company Summary:
Greencoat Capital is the largest sector-focused renewable energy investor in the UK with assets totaling close to $6.5 billion. Specifically, the solar sector is one of the largest with $1.6 billion in value and 720MW of generation capacity comprising 93 solar farms. As mentioned, Greencoat is the largest renewable energy investor in the UK which overall is the third largest utility-scale solar market in Europe with close to 12GW installed.
Investments/Funds:
On February 18th, Greencoat announced the creation of a new closed-end private markets fund for renewable energy called the Greencoat Renewable Income. Greencoat secured a total of $355 million in funding from UK-based Brunel and SAUL. The fund has already allocated three different amounts to three different destinations: a pair of low carbon greenhouses, Greencoat Solar II (one of Greencoat’s subsidiary solar funds), and Templeborough Biomass Power Plant in northern England. This active fund is a sign of Greencoat’s growing expansion within European solar and their continual influence on making the UK one of the largest producers in that region.
3. JME Venture Capital
Company Summary:
JME Venture Capital is a VC firm based in Madrid, Spain. Recently qualified as one of only three cleantech VC firms in Spain, JME is focused on investing in early-stage innovators across a variety of industries.
Investments/Funds:
JME currently has holdings in several important energy players in Europe, including late-stage start-ups like Onyx Solar which is the world’s leading manufacturer of transparent glass photovoltaic (PV) cells for buildings as well as Dexma Energy Management who develops and provides software and data analytics to track energy consumption levels.
4. SET Ventures
Company Summary:
SET Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Amsterdam that specializes in investments related to the global energy supply transition with investments in European clients such as Sefaira and Elmodis.
Investments/Funds:
SET Ventures announced the completion of an energy SET Fund III for $112 million, beating expectations by $28 million. The energy fund will be used for investing in European technology companies that enable renewable digital energy management systems. The SET fund was off to a great start with investments in Swiss-based DEPsys, UK-based Minibems, and Spanish-based Flexidao. This venture by SET continues to show the firm’s strength in European energy management, earning the company “Investor of the Year 2019 Award†from CleanTech.
5. BASF
Company Summary:
BASF is a world-recognized German chemicals manufacturer reinventing the way science can innovate the modern world. The company also maintains a corporate venture capital segment with investments in chemistry, sustainability, and digitalization business models.
Investments/Funds:
Within the BASF Venture Capital segment, there is an Evergreen energy fund with close to $280 million invested in total. The typical investment state is seed to series B. The focus by BASF is to invest in customer-oriented companies with innovative ideas related to sustainable futures. One such example is an investment in Heliatek GmbH, an original manufacturer of organic solar-produced film. BASF recently made their first investment in Brazil by placing $4 million into AGVentures II (managed by Sao Paolo-based SP Venture) focused on sustainable start-ups making innovations in Latin American agriculture. Many start-ups in agriculture are starting to develop renewable energy as a means of powering their farms and crop outputs.
6. Foresight Group
Company Summary:
The Foresight Group is a UK-based private equity investment manager with a portfolio concentrated in sustainable infrastructure, energy management, and overall, “a smarter future†as the company motto states. Additionally, they have retail investment, institutional funds, and numerous partnerships to ensure CSR initiatives and sustainability in their investments. Their largest partnership is with Goodwood Estate, a massive British estate dedicated to conservation initiatives and promoting ecological diversity.
Investments/Funds:
Foresight maintains an institutional solar fund Foresight Solar Fund Limited with over $900 million in estimated market capitalization of assets based primarily in the UK with some in Australia. Over 900 MW of net peak capacity is produced from this fund overall; the fund concentrates primarily in ground-based PV assets with the end of bringing about inflation-linked dividends. The investment objective is achieved by acquiring large-scale solar power plants based in both countries and developing them maintain the status of the UK’s largest dedicated solar energy listed investment company in the future.
Additionally, Foresight recently announced the closing of a European energy-infrastructure fund with committed funds of over $380 million from institutional investors in Norway, Sweden, Spain, and the European Investment Bank. The Foresight Energy Investment Partners (FEIP) will focus entirely on low-carbon energy infrastructure development including the following, “(i) a diverse range of renewable energy generation technologies particularly wind, solar and hydropower; (ii) flexible renewable-enabling infrastructure, such as batteries and other forms of energy storage; and (iii) transmission and distribution assets†(Foresight). FEIP presents new developments by Foresight to continue investing in European infrastructure, including this new fund that will aggressively purse assets in the near future.
7. Obvious Ventures
Company Summary:
Based in San Francisco, Obvious Ventures is a venture capital firm with a commitment to three segments: sustainable systems, healthy living, and people power. The firm prides itself in investing primarily in solutions for dynamic issues facing the planet and humanity as a whole. One of the co-founders is Ev Williams, who in addition co-founded Twitter. One of Obvious’ largest success stories is the successful IPO and rise of Beyond Meat on the stock market in 2019.
Investments/Funds:
Obvious has holdings in a massive segment dedicated to sustainable systems; a couple of the solar-based companies include Mosaic, a residential solar lending firm, and Sighten, a developer of solar monitoring software for commercial and residential use. Obvious also announced the recent closing of a third sustainable systems-based fund “OV3â€, with committed funds of $271 million. Obvious Ventures is an excellent option for start-ups looking to continue operational growth with a humanity-focused mindset, as well as late-stage companies prepping for IPO’s (as was the case with Beyond Meat).
