Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has reached €800m first close on its new CI Energy Transition Fund I (CI ETF I), which has a target size of €2.25bn.
Capital commitments came from a group of leading institutional investors, endowments and family offices from Denmark, Sweden and Germany including the two Danish pension funds – PensionDanmark and PFA.
Vestas and CIP have also committed to the fund.
The fund will invest in next generation renewable energy infrastructure including industrial scale power-to-X (PtX) projects.
It will primarily focus on greenfield projects in Western Europe, North America, Australia and developed Asian countries.
Besides PtX the fund may invest in advanced biofuels, carbon capture and utilization/storage (CCU/S), and other infrastructure technologies, applications, and solutions to decarbonise industries and transportation.
CIP said that prior to first close of CI ETF I it had secured the fund an attractive portfolio of industrial scale development stage PtX projects with diverse exposure to production technologies and offtake markets.
The projects, which are located in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Australia, are expected to produce green hydrogen, green ammonia, and green methanol.
The Australian PtX project, Murchison, was announced in November 2020 and will, once operational, export green ammonia to countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
The Danish project Host was announced in February this year and will be a 1GW electrolysis plant located on the west coast of Jutland and source power from North Sea offshore wind to produce green ammonia.
The excess heat will be used to provide CO2 free heating for around 50,000 households in the town of Esbjerg.
CIP managing partner Jakob Baruel Poulsen said: “CI ETF I is a significant step in CIP’s continued expansion as it broadens our offering to also include infrastructure funds targeted at decarbonizing the hard to abate sectors through CO2-free green fuels and feedstock.
“Solutions such as Power-to-X are key for countries and industries to take the next big leap within the decarbonization and reach the commitments of the Paris agreement.
“Obtaining first close commitments of €800m from existing investors is an important proof of investor confidence in CIP’s approach to energy infrastructure investments and a testament to the track record built with CIP’s renewables focused funds.”