Alantra completes final close of its Energy Transition Fund
Investment management advisory Alantra has collaborated with energy infrastructure firm Enagás to launch a new fund. The Klima Energy Transition Fund raised a hard cap of €210 million.
Founded to help fund Europe’s energy transition for the coming decades, the Klima Energy Transition Fund takes minority stakes in companies with high growth potential in sectors such as low carbon solutions, smart power grids, energy storage, renewables. It also helps enable technologies, digitalisation of the whole energy equation, energy efficiency in hard-to-abate sectors, and sustainable transportation.
Klima was formed from a collaboration between Alantra – a global alternative asset advisory firm with over 540 professionals across Europe, the US, Latin America, and Asia – and Enagás Emprende; the corporate venturing program of Enagás, dedicated to the investment and acceleration of startups and innovative technologies in the field of energy transition. Since 2015, Enagás Emprende has invested in a total of 17 companies, and promoted the Klima energy transition fund.
According to Arturo Gonzalo, CEO of Enagás, “Klima fund is anticipating the decarbonization challenges arising from the new global energy paradigm and is aligned also with the European strategy REPowerEU to reach a self-dependent and decarbonized market. Throughout this Fund, Enagás is playing a role to help these objectives come true.”
In recent months, Alantra and Enagás have been committed to a fund-raising campaign for Klima. Initially targeting €150 million, the firms eventually saw oversubscription bring in a hard cap of €210 million in commitments.
“We have seen strong demand for Klima. Investors are looking for experienced partners who can guide their contribution to transform our energy model by accessing new and clean energy sources,” said Jacobo Llanza, CEO of Alantra Asset Management. “We are delighted to have built, together with Enagás, an investment vehicle that is not only a capital provider but also an operating partner to fast-growing companies aiming to decarbonise the economy.”
Commitments to the Fund include institutional investors, energy-related companies, public and European institutions, and family offices. Alantra and its shareholders, Enagas, and the investment team themselves made a significant joint commitment of approximately €50 million to the Fund, reflecting the strong alignment of interests with its investors. At the same time, the European Investment Fund, which is a part of the European Investment Bank Group, committed €30 million.
Alain Godard, Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund, added, “We are proud to be backing Klima, an experienced and skilled team located in Spain and Germany, who will target promising companies in this field across Europe.”
Klima’s investment team comprises six professionals based in France, Germany, and Spain, combining 40 years of investment track record in the energy sector across Europe and North America. The fund will now look to build on three investments it has already completed: US power generator Mainspring, Swiss weather forecast predictor Meteomatics, and Swedish decentralized integrated solar company SunRoof.
Speaking on Klima’s achievements to date, Bastien Gambini, Managing Partner at Klima, concluded, “Over the last two years, we have analyzed more than 300 companies in Klima’s investment strategy sweet spot. The market opportunity is huge and growing fast given the urgent need for solutions to help decarbonize the economy.”