Amsterdam’s Carbon Equity launches new climate infrastructure fund; raises €10M at first close

Amsterdam-based Carbon Equity, a climate venture capital and private equity investment platform, announced on Friday that it has launched a new fund — Climate Infrastructure Fund I.

The fund is focused on investing in climate infrastructure projects like hydrogen and biogas production facilities, solar parks, sustainable transmission systems, EV charging stations, and battery storage systems.

The investors can invest in these projects with a minimum of €100,000.

At the first close of the Climate Infrastructure Fund I, Carbon Equity raised €10M from existing investors and aims to grow the fund to €50M.

Jacqueline van den Ende, Co-Founder and CEO of Carbon Equity, says, “With the Climate Infrastructure Fund I, we can better serve our investors, including family offices, financial professionals, and entrepreneurs. Our core focus remains investing in climate innovation through private equity and venture capital. However, this new infrastructure fund provides our investors with a chance to further diversify their portfolios while still making a significant impact.”

“The funds we invest in typically have a high entry point, often in the millions, making them accessible primarily to professional or institutional investors. We want to make these opportunities more accessible,” adds van den Ende.

The announcement comes a couple of months after announcing the “strong first close” of its Climate Tech Portfolio Fund III at €60M.

Climate Infrastructure Fund I

Through Climate Infrastructure Fund I, Carbon Equity will invest in 3 to 5 infrastructure funds, ranging from €500M to €2.5M in size, providing investors access to 40 to 50 energy transition projects.

The primary focus will be on developing mostly new impactful projects while investing in already operational projects, which typically have lower risks and returns limited additional impact, and fall outside the fund’s main strategic focus.

The fund, classified as an SFDR Article 9 fund, will primarily invest within the EU.

This new fund differs from Carbon Equity’s Climate Tech Portfolio Funds, which invest through 7 to 10 private equity and venture capital funds, each ranging from €100M to €1B, in over 150 climate innovations spread across the EU and the US.

“The fact that the Climate Infrastructure Fund I invests in projects rolling out proven technologies means that the capital raised is deployed more quickly than in climate innovations,” explains van den Ende.

“Infrastructure projects also generate stable returns earlier, for example through offtake agreements, and have a faster impact. While the risks are still significant, they are lower than those associated with investing in climate innovations, resulting in a lower expected return. Investing in infrastructure may not be as exciting as emerging innovations, but it is equally necessary and complements venture capital and private equity in addressing climate challenges comprehensively,” adds van den Ende.

Carbon Equity: Climate investment platform

Founded by Jacqueline van den Ende, Tim Molendijk, Lara Koole, Jeff Gomez, and Liza Rubinsten, Carbon Equity allows regular investors to invest along with experts in top climate venture capital and private equity funds, with a minimum of as low as €100,000, and soon €10,000.

With its platform, the company aims to grow a highly motivated community of investors ready to fight climate change with their capital.

To date, over 900 investors have invested more than €260M through the Carbon Equity platform.