At the COP27 climate conference, the European Investment Fund (EIF), Europe’s largest venture capital and private equity financier, signed investments totaling EUR 247 million to enable five equity funds to back EUR 2.5 billion of climate action investment that helps to deliver the European Union’s climate and energy targets.
The new financing, which was announced on November 11, 2022, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, contributes to the European Green Deal, the roadmap for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
It also contributes to REPowerEU, the plan to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition.
Contributing to the European Union’s green transition agenda is a top priority for the EIF and the EIB Group. This has become even more important and urgent given the current energy crisis. We are therefore very happy to invest in five equity funds that will make a crucial contribution to the energy transition in a variety of sectors, from water to food and infrastructure. Signing these commitments at COP27 sends a strong market signal that investing in green business models and technologies is possible and vital to our common future, said Alessandro Tappi, Chief Investment Officer at EIF.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group), and its central mission is to support Europe’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them to access finance.
Today’s new commitment will mobilize EUR 2.5 billion of private sector climate investment and demonstrates how harnessing the expertise and focus of venture capital and private equity is accelerating high-impact climate-focused investment, added Gelsomina Vigliotti, VP at EIB, and EIF Board member.
The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees, and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment.
In this role, the EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research, development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment.
The EIF’s support for private sector investment confirmed today will scale up the deployment of green technologies and develop innovative solutions to contribute to reaching Europe’s climate targets. This shows how the EIB Group is scaling up climate finance to tackle the climate emergency, said Ambroise Fayolle EIB VP responsible for the financing of environment and climate action and EIF Board member
The investment agreed upon and backed by the InvestEU program will enable the fund managers to reach the first close or attain their target fund size.
The EIF has committed:
- EUR 28 million to the Growth Blue Fund I, a private equity fund focusing on the blue economy, and sustainable economic activities relating to the oceans. It will mainly invest in Portuguese small and medium companies across all sectors.
- EUR 30 million to PureTerra Ventures, a water technology early growth fund, which invests in small and medium enterprises across the European Union scaling game-changing technologies to radically alter the usage, conservation, and treatment of water. PureTerra is the first-of-its-kind specialist water-focused fund in Europe and the first water-focused investment in the EIF’s venture capital portfolio.
- EUR 39 million to the Zintinus Fund I, a venture capital fund focused on growth-stage investments in sustainable food innovation across Europe, in particular alternative proteins, functional food, clean nutrition, and food waste reduction.
- EUR 75 million to the SUMA Capital Climate Impact Fund III, an infrastructure fund targeting greenfield energy transition and circular economy projects predominantly in Spain.
- EUR 75 million to the Eiffel Transition Infrastructure Fund, an innovative fund designed to provide equity bridge financing for renewable energy infrastructure assets in Europe.
The signatures signal a clear direction of travel for the EIF. The Fund will play a key role in the delivery of the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) contribution to REPowerEU, with a dedicated and additional envelope for EIF equity investments in funds to support innovative companies and the EU’s path to net zero.
The green transition must be accelerated and cannot be delayed. The InvestEU program seeks to mobilize private investments to help drive the support needed to deliver that transition. The agreements signed are clear evidence of this, as well as of InvestEU’s role in helping to make sustainable investment projects across the European Union a reality, said European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni.