COP27: EIF supports €2.5 billion of climate action investment with five venture capital, private equity and infrastructure fund partners

• The EIF is committing €250 million with five equity funds to mobilise €2.5 billion of climate action and environmental sustainability investment across Europe: Growth Blue Fund I, PureTerra Ventures, Zintinus Fund I, SUMA Capital Climate Impact Fund III and Eiffel Transition Infrastructure Fund.
• The funds will invest in food innovation, renewable energy, energy efficiency, the circular economy, blue economy and water.
• Four of the five agreements (Growth Blue Fund I, PureTerra Ventures, SUMA Capital Climate Impact Fund III and Eiffel Transition Infrastructure Fund) are supported by the InvestEU programme. InvestEU brings together EU financial tools to support investment by making project financing simpler, more efficient and more flexible.

At the COP27 climate conference, the European Investment Fund (EIF), Europe’s largest venture capital and private equity financier, signed investments totalling €247 million to enable five equity funds to back €2.5 billion of climate action investment that helps to deliver the European Union’s climate and energy targets.

The new financing contributes to the European Green Deal, the roadmap for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, and REPowerEU, the plan to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition.

The investment agreed — backed by the InvestEU programme — will enable the fund managers to reach a first close or attain their target fund size.

The EIF has committed:

• €28 million to the Growth Blue Fund I, a private equity fund focusing on the blue economy, sustainable economic activities relating to the oceans. It will mainly invest in Portuguese small and medium companies across all sectors.
• €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.
• €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.
• €75 million to the SUMA Capital Climate Impact Fund III, an infrastructure fund targeting greenfield energy transition and circular economy projects predominantly in Spain.
• €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 EIB Group’s contribution to REPowerEU, with a dedicated and additional envelope for EIF equity investments in funds to support innovative companies and the European Union’s path to net zero.

EIF Chief Investment Officer Alessandro Tappi said: “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.”

EIB Vice-President and EIF Board member Gelsomina Vigliotti added: “Today’s new commitment will mobilise €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.”

EIB Vice-President responsible for the financing of environment and climate action and EIF Board member Ambroise Fayolle said: “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.”

European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni said: “The green transition must be accelerated and cannot be delayed. The InvestEU programme seeks to mobilise 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.”

Manager at Growth Blue Miguel Herédia said: “Growth Blue shares the vision of a more sustainable economic model and the decarbonisation of our societies and production methods. We are certain that the ocean will play a critical role in this transition since it is one of the few alternatives to produce protein, energy or new materials to supply an increasing demand boosted by a growing population. We also need to protect the ocean from the impact of world’s current economic model. We believe we can do this by providing both sustainability and returns for our investors.”

“Water is the foundation of life, yet undervalued by most. The overall water cycle is broken and its repair is long overdue,” said Job van Schelven, partner at PureTerra Ventures. “The European Investment Fund subscribes to PureTerra’s ambition: clean water for all. PureTerra’s partners are grateful to InvestEU and the Dutch Future Fund for valuing the necessity of water expertise and entrepreneurial experience for scaling solutions to maximise impact. With the commitment to water, the European Investment Fund is leading the financial markets in recognising the need and the opportunities inherent in water distress.”

“The transition of the food system is one of the biggest challenges and opportunities of our time. We are fully committed to supporting young companies in this space and helping them on their growth journey. Having the EIF as a partner is a privilege and a great encouragement.” said Olaf Koch, partner at ZINTINUS.

Suma Capital Climate Impact Fund III CEO Enrique Tombas said: “We are delighted to have the support of the EIF in our third-generation infrastructure impact fund to fight against climate change. We have been developing this activity for the last ten years, with our firm purpose of committing to building the future that we believe in, more inclusive and decarbonised.”

Head of Infrastructure at Eiffel Pierre-Antoine Machelon said: “By providing much-needed equity alongside midsized independent renewable energy developers and power producers, the Eiffel Transition Infrastructure fund accelerates the development of new renewable energy capacities, helping Europe achieve energy sovereignty and generating a significant positive impact on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.”

The signatures took place at an EIF side event at COP27 about “The contribution of European Venture Capital, Private Equity and Infrastructure Funds to the EU Green Deal.” The event, which discussed the main impediments to scaling up investment in the energy transition, included a keynote speech by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and was moderated by EIF Chief Investment Officer Alessandro Tappi. It brought together a panel of three EIF-supported fund managers with strong green strategies: Nicolas Piau, co-founder and CEO of TiLT Capital Partners, Julia Padberg, partner at SET Ventures, and Michal Kurtyka, strategy advisor at Eiffel Investment Group.

Background information:

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group. Its central mission is to support Europe's micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, the EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth and employment.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by the EU Member States. The EIB Group has adopted a Climate Bank Roadmap to deliver on its ambitious agenda to support €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments in the decade to 2030 and to deliver more than 50% of EIB finance for climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025. As part of the roadmap, all new EIB Group operations have been aligned with the goals and principles of the Paris Agreement since the start of 2021.

Growth Blue is a private equity fund supported by the European Investment Fund, focused exclusively on companies operating in the blue economy, with the purpose of using ocean resources in a sustainable way for economic growth. The fund is focused mainly on Portugal where it believes there are several competitive advantages in the different sectors we are targeting, in particular food and energy.

PureTerra Ventures is the only investment firm with a pure focus on disruptive water technologies. PureTerra Ventures invests in promising disruptive innovative water technologies which can change, improve or replace the existing value chain. It focuses on companies that excel through a dedicated and experienced management, strong intellectual property and a distinctive market position and significant growth potential. As an involved investor, it provides growth capital and also use its global network and knowledge of the water industry to help businesses realise growth opportunities.

ZINTINUS is a food tech growth capital fund with a focus on alternative proteins, functional food, clean nutrition and food waste reduction with offices in Berlin, Germany. ZINTINUS aims to contribute its unique combination of knowledge, experience and network to the positive transition of the food systems creating the basis for superior value generation along the whole chain to the benefit of consumers, the environment and investors.

Suma Capital is an independent purpose driven alternative asset manager focused on sustainability investments through three different programmes: infrastructure, growth and venture capital. With more than €700 million under management, Suma Capital is a well-established European player in the small and medium-sized segment. The infrastructure division is a pioneering initiative that has been supporting the energy transition and the circular economy for the last ten years through equity investments. It aims to obtain both financial and socio-environmental returns. After two successful previous impact funds, SC Climate Impact Fund III FCRE is an Article 9 fund under the SFDR regulation and has a target size of €300 million.

Eiffel Investment Group is an asset manager with around €4.5 billion under management (data as of 30 September 2022, including undrawn commitments). Eiffel Investment Group’s clients are large institutional investors (insurers, mutual funds, pension funds, banks, large family offices and public investors) as well as individuals, through intermediary distribution. Eiffel Investment Group cultivates strong industrial expertise, particularly in the field of energy transition, but also in health, agri-food and digital. It finances companies and their assets through four main strategies: private debt, energy transition infrastructure, private equity, and listed equities and credit. Eiffel Investment Group’s mission is to invest for a sustainable world. Its investment strategies aim to generate not only a strong financial performance but also a positive impact on the environment and society.

EIB at COP27

Find an overview of the EIB at COP27 on our dedicated website. In addition, the EIB has a pavilion in the side event area of the Blue Zone and is running a series of events on numerous topics. You will find the full agenda here. You are welcome to join our virtual attendee hub to watch the sessions either live or later at your convenience, and network with attendees. With an easy two-step registration process, you will always have the latest information on our agenda.

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with crucial long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps mobilise private investments for EU policy priorities, such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. The InvestEU programme brings together under one roof the multitude of EU financial instruments currently available to support investment in the European Union, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners who will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budgetary guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.

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