Climate Investment Newsletter 10/22 - 11/1
Individual Deals and Market Watch
- It also has board approval from the European Investment Bank for a further €750m in senior debt funding and a letter of intent for a €500m junior debt facility from a Nordic infrastructure fund. The senior debt is covered by €2.5bn worth of credit guarantees from credit agencies and the Swedish National Debt Office.
Uruguay successfully issues $1.5 billion “green linked bond,” with $3.96 billon demand [MercoPress]
- On Friday October 20, Uruguay issued its first sustainability-linked bonds (SLB), with a step-down mechanism that is activated if it reaches certain environmental targets. The purpose is to align the country’s sovereign debt policy with its climate goals by issuing a bond that links the coupon to compliance with the climate and environmental goals that the country set in its first Naturally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement.
- This investment by CDPQ will allow Shizen Energy to accelerate its ongoing renewable power plant development activities, business enhancement initiatives in energy digitalization, and human capital expansion in key markets.
WEC Energy to buy USD-360m majority stake in US solar project [Renewables Now]
- Milwaukee-based utility holding company WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) has signed a deal to acquire an 80% interest in the 250-MW Maple Flats Solar Energy Center in Illinois from developer Invenergy.
Chinese automaker Geely's new energy brand Farizon raises over $300 mln [Reuters]
- The new capital raise, which involves other investors such as Chinese logistics and chemical group Transfar and an investment firm backed by major Chinese investment bank CITIC Securities, came as Geely stepped up its new energy vehicle development.
Ascend Elements secures $300 million in funding [Cision]
- Ascend Elements, a U.S.-based engineered materials and lithium-ion battery recycling company, announced it has secured $300 million in equity and debt financing, including $200 million in Series C equity investments from an international group of strategic and financial investors.
Timberland Investment Resources seeks $250m for forestry fund [IP&E]
- The manager said the Sustainable Forestry & Natural Capital Fund, which has been launched for pension funds and institutional investors, will mainly invest in the southern part of US.
- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) mobilized a $135-million climate financing package for VinFast Trading and Production Joint Stock Company (VinFast) for manufacturing Vietnam’s first fully-electric public transport bus fleet and first national electric vehicle (EV) charging network.
EIP invests $110M+ in RS Technologies [Pitchbook]
- Energy Impact Partners has invested over CA$150 million (roughly $110 million) in RS Technologies, a Canadian manufacturer of electric transmission and distribution equipment. Werklund Family Office remains the company's majority owner.
Hong Kong stock exchange launches voluntary carbon market [Carbon Pulse]
Macro Commitments
U.S. EPA begins work to set up $27 bln green bank [Reuters]
- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday began the process of designing a $27 billion green bank that will offer grants to disadvantaged communities around the United States to deploy low- or zero-emissions projects.
Green Climate Fund approves nine new projects to bring portfolio to over $11 bln [Carbon Pulse]
BlackRock raises $4.5 bln for climate-focused infrastructure fund [Reuters]
- BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) has raised $4.5 billion out of an overall $7.5 billion-target for a new fund to invest in infrastructure assets aimed at climate-focused projects, the world's largest asset manager said.
- Eight financial institutions and agribusiness companies have announced a commitment worth $3 billion – with more than $200 million in disbursements by 2022 – to soy and cattle production that is free of deforestation and land conversion in South America. In so doing, these companies have become the first signatories of the Innovative Finance for the Amazon, Cerrado and Chaco (IFACC).
India advances energy transition with ‘milestone’ $2.8bn green ammonia/hydrogen project [Gas World]
- With demand for hydrogen in India set to grow five-fold by 2050, a’state-of-the-art’ green ammonia and green hydrogen production facility to be built in the Indian province of Rajasthan aims to advance the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy.
DOE Awards $2.8 Billion to Increase EV Batteries, Electric Grid [Smart Energy Decisions]
- The Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), announced the first set of projects funded by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and the electrical grid and for materials and components currently imported from other countries.
EU Cohesion Policy: €2.5 billion for a just climate transition in Germany [EC]
- The German Länder North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Saxony and Saxony Anhalt launch the Just Transition Fund (JTF) programming to support their fair transition to a green economy.
Saudi Aramco creates $1.5b energy transition fund [OGV Energy]
- It was unveiled at the sixth edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) and is among the largest sustainability-focused venture capital funds globally. Managed by Aramco Ventures, the venture capital arm of Aramco, the fund is an extension of the company’s efforts to meet the world’s growing energy demand, with lower greenhouse gas emissions.
AfDB Plans $1.5bn Green Facility [This Day Live]
- The African Development Bank (AfDB) is setting up a $1.5 billion green finance facility to help meet surging demand for money to develop clean energy and defend infrastructure against floods, storms and rising seas exacerbated by global warming.
Multilateral fund allocates $1 bln for coal shift in South Africa, Indonesia [Carbon Pulse]
- SA and Indonesia will receive a combined $1bn from the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) to replace some of their coal-fired power plants with renewable energy facilities, part of global efforts to cut planet-warming emissions. The allocation of $500m each to the coal-dependent countries will come in the form of “concessional,” or low cost, finance... [Business Live]
EPA directs nearly $1B for electric school buses [Green Car Reports]
- The grants will go to 389 school districts spanning all 50 states, the District of Columbia, several Native American tribes' lands, and United States territories, the EPA said in a press release, adding that the grants will help these school districts purchase over 2,400 electric buses.
Gabon plans $700 million debt swap to fund marine conservation [FlipBoard]
Cadbury-maker Mondelez to invest $600 mln on sustainable cocoa sourcing [Reuters]
- Cadbury chocolate-maker Mondelez International doubled down on sustainable cocoa sourcing, pledging to spend an additional $600 million by 2030 on efforts to combat child labour, farmer poverty and deforestation in cocoa.
First Solar plans USD-270m R&D innovation facility in Ohio [Renewables Now]
- US thin-film photovoltaics (PV) maker First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) Thursday that it intends to spend some USD 270 million (EUR 269m) on the establishment of a dedicated research and development (R&D) innovation centre in Ohio.
Acre launches $200 million fund for climate finance [Afrik21]
- The investment company Acre Impact Capital is launching a $200 million investment fund dedicated to Africa. This mechanism supported by the European Investment Bank (EIB) will contribute to climate financing.
Pathways, Frameworks, Case Studies, Research, Climate Science
Analysts expect primary VCM market value to lift by a fifth in 2022 to $1.2 bln [Carbon Pulse]
Retailers focus on affordable alt protein products as investments reach $1.7bn [Vegconomist]
- A report by the FAIRR investor network has found that retailers are increasingly developing more affordable alt protein products, meeting consumer demand while working towards their own climate goals.
- For the first time, three leading cultivated food industry associations are hosting a first-of-its-kind meeting this week in Singapore to formalize the launch of a global alliance to advance cultivated foods on the global stage.
Investments in APAC agrifood tech set a new $5 billion record, according to new report [Green Queen]
- Last year was a banner year for agrifood tech companies across Asia Pacific. And 2022 is following with notable achievements, with more than 360 investment deals in the first half of the year totaling more than $5 billion, according to the latest AgFunder report, produced in partnership with Thai Wah, Omnivore, and AgriFutures Australia.
- Mayors and youth leaders pledge to be united in action to deliver green jobs, following the announcement that C40 mayors will drive the creation of 50 million green jobs by 2030
Climate Finance Short-changed: The real value of the $100 billion commitment in 2019–2020 [Oxfam]
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