Energy Infrastructure Partners (EIP) has raised investor commitments of €1bn in collaboration with Credit Suisse Investment Foundation for the first close of its global energy transition infrastructure fund.
Following previous strategies focused on energy transition assets in Switzerland and Europe, EIP’s global fund targets investments in developed economies worldwide.
Its investment strategy focuses on assets that generate carbon-free energy, assets that transport energy, like power grids and transmission networks, and assets that store energy, like grid-scale batteries and pumped storage, providing grid flexibility.
As of the first close, the fund’s investors will participate in two major investments EIP completed earlier this year: A 30% stake in Boralex Inc’s French renewables platform, one of the country’s largest renewables platforms with more than 1GW of installed generation capacity; and the 25% stake EIP shares with Crédit Agricole Assurances in Repsol’s global renewable energy unit Repsol Renovables, with more than 1.6GW of installed capacity globally.
Both investments come with growth plans to expand the operating asset base.
By 2030 Boralex’s capacity should increase by three times and Repsol’s by 10 times.
EIP has also reached an exclusive agreement to take a 19.85% stake in Fluxys, a global operator of system-critical energy transmission infrastructure.
The group’s portfolio includes liquefied natural gas terminals, gas storage facilities and a network of gas pipelines that serves Europe’s largest markets and provides important arteries between the continent and the rest of the world.
Given the size of the deal pipeline and global investor appetite, EIP is accelerating its fundraising efforts for a second close while expanding its focus beyond Switzerland.
Targeting €4bn in total commitment, the fund’s final close is planned for the end of 2024.
As with the predecessor funds, EIP will continue to execute its investment mandate alongside strategic industrial partners, including leading global blue-chip energy companies like Repsol, RWE and Iberdrola.
Throughout the first close EIP concentrated on serving the Swiss pension market in close collaboration with the Credit Suisse Investment Foundation. Many Swiss pensions funds are now investing in an EIP-managed portfolio for the second or third time.
“The strong demand from our longstanding Swiss client base – especially amid several choppy quarters in public markets and central banks’ movement away from a low-rate environment – is a strong vote of confidence in EIP and energy infrastructure,” said Beat Goetz, EIP’s head of global client solutions.
“Considering the unique qualities of system-critical energy infrastructure, this space is seen more and more as its own asset class.”