Asset manager KGAL and EIT InnoEnergy have announced that they will invest in European hydrogen projects and drive their development.
Under the agreement KGAL will invest in selected hydrogen projects from the EIT InnoEnergy portfolio that have already successfully progressed through the early stage.
KGAL will contribute fresh capital and its expertise in greenfield investments, and work together with EIT InnoEnergy to develop the projects to the point of commercial operation.
With the support of Breakthrough Energy, EIT InnoEnergy has founded the European Green Hydrogen Acceleration Center (EGHAC) with the specific aim of establishing a European value chain for green hydrogen.
This supports industrial projects for green hydrogen with a variety of services, including funding.
The key role of green hydrogen in achieving climate targets is becoming increasingly evident – more than 350 hydrogen projects have been announced in Europe alone.
According to Roland Berger, the electrolysis capacities to produce this versatile molecule will increase sevenfold by 2025.
This means that green hydrogen is also gaining immense importance for KGAL, which makes renewable energy investments for institutional investors.
Managing director of sustainable infrastructure at KGAL Investment Management Michael Ebner said: “An important factor for investment success is access to promising projects, which is why this cooperation is so valuable for us.
“With its more than 1,200 partners from industry, politics, finance, research and education, EIT InnoEnergy maintains one of the largest and most relevant ‘ecosystems’ for climate technologies worldwide.
“We are also impressed by the high success rate of investments from our partner’s portfolio.”
EIT InnoEnergy has supported more than 500 companies and projects to date.