Thematic AND INFORMED approacH TO PLACEMENTS
Worthwhile Capital Partners exclusively offer investors investment opportunities that meet their sustainability objectives by adopting a thoughtful and thematic approach to fundraising. This allows us to bring thought leaders, industry experts and investors together to discuss, explore and implement strategies suitable for our planet, society and economy. These are the placements that we have done so far.
Natural Climate Solutions – mitigating CO2 emissions, restoring nature, and preventing biodiversity loss
Just Climate is a subsidiary of Generation Investment Management (GIM, USD 43bn AUM) which was founded in 2004 by former US Vice President, Al Gore, and former CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, David Blood.
Just Climate is a pure climate-led investment business targeting attractive risk-adjusted returns by backing the highest impact climate solutions (Just Climate seeks to deliver attractive risk-adjusted financial returns, but there can be no guarantee this goal will be achieved). The case for investing in nature is clear. Agriculture, forestry and other land use account for 23% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions today, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Natural climate solutions (NCS) can deliver close to 7 gigatons of CO2 abatement per year, enough to achieve around one third of the 2030 net emissions reduction targets required by the Paris Agreement (McKinsey and World Economic Forum ‘Consultation: Nature and Net Zero”, January 2021).
Just Climate’s NCS strategy aims to bring the many climate-related benefits of nature together, from physical commodity production to carbon storage, while also contributing to biodiversity, pollination, nutrient cycling, and the quality and quantity of water provision. NCS offers investors an opportunity to back highest impact climate solutions while generating attractive risk-adjusted returns.
“We are on a brink of environmental catastrophe and cutting emissions won’t be enough. There is a second crisis happening within our ecosystems. To tackle it, we must recognize that nature is not only priceless but has measurable economic value. Restoring precious biodiversity – aided by technological and financial innovation – will unlock environmental protection and economic and social benefits.”
Market tailwinds are supported by leading companies making ambitious net-zero targets, policy tailwinds are growing as governments make commitments to nature protection and restoration, and there is a growing pipeline of investable opportunities. Worthwhile Capital Partners is the exclusive placement agent for Just Climate’s NCS strategy in the Nordic region, and in Switzerland.
For further information about Just Climate, please visit: https://www.justclimate.com
FEIP II (EUR 1.25 Billion) – DRIVING THE TRANSITION TO DEEPLY DECARBONISED ENERGY SYSTEMS (OPEN FOR COMMITMENTS)
After the success of Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners I SCSp, which was oversubscribed by 70% in 2021, Foresight Group LLP ("Foresight") is now launching Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners II (“FEIP II”), the second vintage of its European energy transition strategy (Foot Note: FEIP II has not yet been established, so the information contained herein may be subject to change). FEIP II continues Foresight's commitment to sustainable energy investing with its system-wide approach to portfolio construction. It targets not only traditional renewable energy generation assets like wind and solar power but also focuses on enabling infrastructure assets, such as energy storage, and advanced grid infrastructure.
With nearly four decades of investment experience and over EUR 14bn in AUM, Foresight, an international sustainability-led alternatives investment manager, is well-positioned at the forefront of the energy transition investment landscape. Its team of 175 experienced professionals operates across eight countries, leveraging their networks and expertise to add significant value across all stages of its assets’ lifecycle, with particular relevance across Europe given that the EU is now accelerating policy support for the sector.
FEIP II will be strategically launched at a pivotal moment when Europe's energy landscape is evolving rapidly, driven by a critical need for energy independence and favorable EU policy tailwinds. Ursula von der Leyen's vision of scaling up the clean energy transition aligns with FEIP II's investment strategy, which is aligned to Article 9 of the EU SFDR, evidenced by external third-party validation against the EU Taxonomy.
“The Net-Zero Industry Act will focus on the key technologies for the shift to net zero. It will speed up permitting and secure funding on national and EU levels”
FEIP II is designed as a mid-market energy transition strategy targeting a fund size of €1.25bn and it will allocate at least 70% to greenfield projects and up to 30% to operating assets. This approach is intended to focus initially on operational investments (mitigating the J-curve), appealing to investors seeking stable returns. While primarily focusing on Europe (80% of the fund's allocation), FEIP II will also selectively pursue promising opportunities in the US and Australia.
FEIP II is targeting its First Closing by the end of Q2 2024 and will remain open for investment until Q4 2025, or as long as there is fund capacity. Worthwhile Capital Partners is honored to be the exclusive placement agent for FEIP II in the Nordic region, offering investors the chance to participate in a fund that aligns competitive returns with crucial sustainability goals.
For further details on Foresight Group, please visit https://www.foresightgroup.eu
Disclaimer: This summary is a marketing communication. Without limitation, this document does not constitute an offer, an invitation to offer, a placement, an invitation, a general solicitation or a recommendation to enter into any transaction or invest in the fund. Please refer to the prospectus of FEIP II before making any final investment decisions.
World fund i (EUR 300 million) – climate tech with decarbonisation as a value driver (closed)
World Fund is establishing itself as a leading investor in the climate technology sector within Europe, backed by a strong founding partner team that combines climate science, entrepreneurial skill, and communication expertise. With an outstanding track record, including a 9.1x MOIC across over 70 companies, the team has proven capabilities and extensive reach within the European venture capital and tech ecosystem, supported by a network of over 150 active founding investors and multiple unicorn founders.
World Fund's inaugural fund, World Fund I, is structured as a 10-year German limited partnership with a five-year investment period. Targeting robust returns of greater than 3x from Seed to Series B, the fund operates with a dark green mandate under EU SFDR Article 9 and commits to delivering detailed non-financial sustainability reports to investors.
“We, Europeans, are excellent in making science with money. But we are not so good in making money out of science.”
Amidst the urgent transition to a decarbonized global economy, World Fund I prioritizes investments in transformative climate technologies that are fundamental to combating climate change. These investments represent not just an ethical imperative but also an exceptional opportunity for profitability in a landscape where emission regulations and consumer preferences are increasingly geared towards sustainability. Europe stands out as a stronghold for climate tech investments, with substantial expenditure on R&D and an abundance of innovative startups. Despite this, venture capital provision has lagged behind other major economies. World Fund I is positioned to leverage this opportunity, providing vital capital to transition research and innovation into commercially viable products.
With World Fund I, investors have had the opportunity to engage with a fund that aligns forward-thinking financial strategies with the imperative for sustainable impact. Worthwhile Capital Partners was the exclusive placement agent for World Fund I in the Nordic region, facilitating investor participation at this critical juncture for both economic transformation and climate action.
For further details on World Fund, please visit https://www.worldfund.vc
NZPF (USD 2 BN) – INVESTING IN DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEXT GENERATION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE (OPEN FOR COMMITMENTS)
Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners (“Quinbrook”) is led and managed by a senior team of true power industry professionals. This specialist value-add investment manager originates, acquires, constructs, operates, and manages, direct investments in lower carbon and renewable energy infrastructure assets and businesses. The team has developed a strong culture of successfully managing construction risk and merchant price risk across power markets in the US, Australia and the UK since the 1990’s. It has already invested over USD 8 billion in energy infrastructure assets, representing 20GW of power supply capacity.
“We are impressed by Quinbrook’s track record of creating value and managing risk on behalf of its LPs. They have created excellent platform companies that should be able to provide stable and predictable returns to their investors. KLP’s commitment to the Quinbrook Net Zero Power Fund will contribute to KLP’s goal of investing 6 billion NOK annually in climate-friendly investments and be a part of the transition to a net zero society.”
The Net Zero Power Fund (NZPF) is the third fund under the Quinbrook brand and the eighth for the team members. The fund’s strategy exploits the exponential demand for new renewable energy infrastructure assets primarily in the US. It targets sustainable investments by regularly assessing climate impacts, metrics and risks and will invest in the next generation of renewable energy sectors; combined solar PV+battery storage, the powering of green data centres, distributed energy solutions and the provision for clean power for industries. Investing in new development in the US maximises risk-adjusted returns for investors’ portfolios, away from the lower returning and greater geopolitical risks in Europe. The manager aims at raising USD 2 bn in the fund plus a significant USD 1bn in co-invest (hard cap USD 4bn in total) for this 10-year Luxembourg fund.
Because of the fund’s greenfield focus, new projects immediately impact the ability to replace fossil fuel, offering investors true “additionality” in the pursuit of net zero emissions targets, and it will be classified in Article 9 under EU SFDR. The manager supports several climate initiatives and recently achieved an A+ ESG rating by UN PRI. It has received awards for the best manager and best fund by IJGlobal, Preqin and ESG Investing, and its previous fund won the 2021 ESG Investment Fund of the Year. QIP also demonstrates a strong sustainability focus in its impressive senior advisory board including Fiona Reynolds, who joined QIP most recently from her position as CEO of UN PRI.
“Quinbrook’s Net Zero Power Fund complements the Church Pension Fund’s strategic allocation to climate solutions. ESG aspects are systematically integrated into the Fund’s investment process through established platforms. Quinbrook’s proactive work on human rights issues with suppliers is one example of their groundbreaking ESG practices.”
NZPF has already completed a very strong first close. The fund is expected to remain open until Q2 2024, or as long there is fund capacity. Worthwhile Capital Partners is the exclusive placement agent in the Nordic region and in selected continental European countries.
For further details on Quinbrook, please visit https://www.quinbrook.com
PROJECT SKAFTÅSEN (231 MW) – SYNDICATED PLACEMENT IN SWEDISH ON-SHORE WIND (DEAL CLOSED)
Foresight Group has announced it closed a syndicated co-investment deal for the greenfield 231MW Skaftåsen onshore wind project in Sweden, through its Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners (FEIP) specialist renewables infrastructure fund. The transaction included co-investments from leading European infrastructure investors including the Swedish government’s Polhem Infra (Sweden), KLP (Norway), BAE Systems Pension Funds (UK) and Arcano (Spain).
Located in the Härjedalen municipality of Central Sweden, construction at the Skaftåsen site is progressing according to plan and will be the first in the world to feature the most powerful onshore wind turbines developed to-date – the Siemens Gamesa 5x platform utilising 35 x SG 5.8-155 turbines with flexible power rating and operating at 6.6MW. The 231MW project has been validated against EU Taxonomy criteria and has been estimated to generate power equivalent to saving 425,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum when compared to coal-powered electricity generation. The project will also contribute 1% of revenues to the local community during operations.
“Being who we are and with the support of the AP Funds, sustainability is the alpha and the omega of our approach to investing. Having done our own assessment of this project, we found its risk-return and sustainability profiles matched our sustainable approach. We were also encouraged by the opportunity to join Foresight and the other professional and institutional investors with a strong reputation in this field. As a long-term investor, we believe that investing in environmental solutions such as this project and with these partners offers investors the right balance between financial returns and sustainable solutions.”
Foresight was advised by Ashurst (Legal adviser) and Vinge (local legal counsel), and EY (Financial and tax due diligence) and Worthwhile Capital Partners, who acted as the exclusive Placement Agent in the Nordic region.
FEIP (EUR 851M) – Investing in the transition towards a new energy system (FUND CLOSED - OVERSUBSCRIBED)
Foresight Group (“Foresight”) has invested in renewable energy since 2008 and is a leading sustainability-driven global real assets and infrastructure manager. The manager has over 100 professionals dedicated to new energy infrastructure across investment and asset management, with assets under management in excess of EUR 7.5bn. Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners (“FEIP”) is a flagship Foresight fund with an investment strategy to designed to capture the opportunity resulting from the transition towards a new, sustainable and fossil free energy system. It has a principal focus on the European market and is denominated in EUR.
FEIP’s strategy recognizes that the energy transition requires not only the build out of zero-carbon energy generation assets such as wind and solar power, but also the necessity of flexibility assets, such as battery storage, to accommodate renewables’ variable output, and new transmission and distribution infrastructure required due to the distributed nature of renewable energy. FEIP invests and diversifies across all of these elements of the new energy landscape, with a differentiated, conscious approach to portfolio construction.
FEIP’s investment strategy is shaped to achieve specific decarbonization objectives in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. Its approach is aligned specifically with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in particular with respect to Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9) and Climate Action (SDG 13). Foresight provides high quality Sustainability and ESG reporting including ongoing monitoring of metrics such as greenhouse gas reduction and greenhouse gas intensity of invested capital, renewable energy generation and diversion of waste from landfill.
“FEIP’s fundraising success highlights the attractiveness of its differentiated strategy and investor recognition of the profound importance of sustainability for the investing landscape.”
The fund had an initial target raise of EUR 500m, but greatly exceeded this target as the manager raised more than EUR 1bn (EUR 851.4m in the fund, EUR 170m from co-investors) at its final close in September 2021. The fund saw a strong interest and received a large contribution from 14 Nordic institutional investors. It was successful with investors who had little experience with renewable energy investing and that need a diversified approach to investing, as well as with experienced investors.
For further details on Foresight Group, please visit https://www.foresightgroup.eu
NextPower III (USD 896M) – Investing in THE FAST GROWTH OF global solar PV (FUND CLOSED - OVERSUBSCRIBED)
NextEnergy Capital is a leading specialist investment and asset manager in the solar sector and NextPower III (“NPIII”) recently won the prestigious international award of “Renewables Fund of the Year” in Environmental Finance’s Sustainable Investment Awards 2020. The manager has over 200 professionals employed across investment and asset management. NextEnergy Capital has extensive experience in developing and investing in solar PV assets and manages over USD 2.3bn of assets invested across 200 solar power assets to date. The manager has an operating asset management division, WiseEnergy. WiseEnergy is the largest operating asset manager of solar plants in Europe and since its inception managed and monitored over 1,500 individual utility-scale solar plants with an installed capacity in excess of 2.3GW.
“The investment contributes to our commitment to sustainable investments and the desire to find attractive investment opportunities that are characterized by stability and predictability for our pension customers. We have great faith in a stable and good return from this investment.”
NPIII focuses exclusively on generating electricity from 100% solar PV sources, directly contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emission and achieving global climate mitigation targets. The fund targets a reduction of CO2 emission of over 2 million tons per year and supports UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) across Clean and Affordable Energy (SDG7), Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG8), Industry Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG9) and Climate Action (SDG13).
NextPower III currently has commitments of c. USD 760 million, and co-investments of USD 90 million, against a fundraising target of USD 750 million. The fund had strong support from Nordic investors and closed in January 2022. It fund was particularly successful with institutional investors that already have experience in renewable energy investing and that already has considerable allocations to wind assets, but that need further performance attribution and diversification from solar pv.
For further details on NextEnergy Capital, please visit https://www.nextenergycapital.com