Climate Investment Newsletter 2/26 - 3/4

Individual Deals and Market Watch

USD 6.38 bn growth in carbon accounting software market | Technavio [Cision]

• The carbon accounting software market is estimated to grow by USD 6.38 bn from 2020 to 2025. The growth momentum of the market will accelerate at a CAGR of 25% during this period.

Freshfields advises the Colonial group on the conversion of €4.6bn of senior bonds into 'green bonds' [Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer]

• Global law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (‘Freshfields’) has advised the real estate group Inmobiliaria Colonial (Colonial) and its French subsidiary Société Foncière Lyonnaise (SFL) on the successful conversion of all of the Colonial group’s outstanding senior bonds into 'green bonds'. The bonds represent an aggregate principal amount of €4.6bn and were issued by Colonial and SFL. They are listed on Euronext Dublin, Euronext Paris and the Spanish fixed income market AIAF. Freshfields acted as sole transaction counsel on the deal.

Auction for the right to build wind farms off New York and New Jersey raises a record $4.37 billion [CNBC]

• The federal government announced a record $4.37 billion sale of six offshore wind leases off the coasts of New York and New Jersey.
• The auction by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is the first offshore wind lease sale under President Joe Biden.

Chevron to buy biofuel company for $3.15 billion [The Wall Street Journal]

• Chevron Corp. is making one of its largest investments in renewable fuels, paying $3.15 billion to buy a company that makes diesel and other fuels from sources such as corn or cooking oil as the fossil-fuel giant faces investor pressure to invest in green energy.

Palmetto raises $375 million to accelerate residential clean energy independence [Cision]

• Palmetto, a leading clean energy marketplace and technology services platform, announced it has raised approximately $375 million to accelerate the adoption of residential solar and clean energy independence across the United States. The round was led by Social Capital, with participation from new and existing investors including ArcTern Ventures, Gaingels, Lerer Hippeau, and MacKinnon, Bennett & Co. (MKB).

Chinese EV maker Hozon secures $316 million in fresh funding [Tech Node]

• Hozon New Energy Automobile has raised more than RMB 2 billion ($316 million) in a recent round as part of its Series D, which could value the electric vehicle startup at around RMB 25 billion, Chinese media outlet LatePost reported.

Climate fintech space on radar as CommerzVentures closes €300 million fund [tech eu]

• Frankfurt-based fintech investor CommerzVentures has closed its third fund at €300 million. As Commerzbank returned as the sole LP, the combined total fund size has reached €550 million. It will focus on early and growth-stage companies in the fintech and insurtech sectors, as well as the emerging climate fintech space.

CPP Investments puts further EUR 260m into renewables platform RPC [Renewables Now]

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) said it has committed another EUR 260 million (USD 291.2m) to Renewable Power Capital Ltd (RPC), the London-based platform it launched in 2020 to invest in solar, onshore wind and energy storage in Europe.

Equinor, BP ink deal for USD-250m offshore wind port hub in New York [Renewables Now]

• Norwegian energy company Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) and oil-and-gas multinational BP Plc (LON:BP) will use the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in New York as the staging area for their 3.3 GW of offshore wind projects on the East Coast.

Climate tech SaaS leader Aurora Solar secures $200 million in Series D to further the digital transformation of the solar ecosystem [Cision]

• Aurora Solar, the industry's leading software platform for solar sales and design, announced it closed a $200 million Series D funding round co-led by current investors Coatue and Energize Ventures with participation from Fifth Wall, ICONIQ and new investors, Lux Capital and Emerson Collective. With this funding, Aurora Solar will accelerate its mission to create a future of clean energy by equipping solar professionals with a powerful and accessible software platform for every step of the solar adoption process.

Ares Management invests USD 200m in solar developer DSD [Renewables Now]

• A fund managed by the Infrastructure and Power strategy of Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) has made a USD-200-million (EUR 178.2m) preferred equity investment in US solar developer DSD Renewables.

Revel to expand EV fast-charging network with backing from BlackRock ($126mln) [Tech Crunch]

• Revel, the Brooklyn-based startup that first made a name for itself with its iconic shared blue electric mopeds in New York City, has raised a $126 million Series B in a funding round led by BlackRock Renewable Power.

New Forests raises $120m in first close for new tropical Asia forest fund [IPE Real Assets]

• Temasek, Asian Development Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Australian government back TAFF2’s first close

Project Canary raises $111m from top climate tech and SaaS focused investors [Cision]

• Project Canary, the Denver-based climate tech and environmental assessment company raised $111 million in Series B funding, the company announced.
• The data analytics company plans to scale its core solutions and expand to new sectors as it helps companies reach a net-zero future, with a keen focus on reducing methane. As the business world has become increasingly data-reliant, a holistic, granular view of operations and the environmental footprint of each facility has become a must-have in today's measurement economy.

SolaREIT closes USD-100m solar lease securitisation with Nuveen [Renewables Now]

• Solar real estate investment fund SolaREIT has closed on a USD-100-million (EUR 89m) securitisation of solar leases with Nuveen, the former announced.

Macro Commitments

EU launches €150bn fund for green transition, sustainable growth in Africa [Blueprint]

• The scheme aims to support Africa for a strong, inclusive, green and digital recovery and transformation. The funding will accelerate the green transition, digital transition and sustainable growth as well as decent job creation.

Australian mining billionaire to invest $2.2 bln in renewable energy project [Reuters]

• Australian iron ore magnate Andrew Forrest, who's been betting big on a global green revolution, said he was investing A$3 billion ($2.2 billion) in renewable energy in central Queensland.

MAN Energy to pour up to EUR 500m in electrolyser production [Renewables Now]

• Germany's MAN Energy Solutions SE is planning to invest up to EUR 500 million (USD 554.83m) to scale electrolyser production at its hydrogen subsidiary H-Tec Systems in a bid to turn it into a mass-producer of PEM electrolysers as quickly as possible.

Avaada Energy raises US$192 million through green bonds [PV Magazine]

• Solar developer Avaada Energy announced it is raising INR 1440 crore (US$192 million) in India’s largest AAA-rated green bond issue by any renewable energy developer. The bonds, with a three-year tenure, will be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and offer a yield of 6.75% per annum.

Big money ($120mln) for small(ish) solar [Axios]

• Aspen Power Partners is launching with $120 million in funding to support its focus on smaller scale solar developments, the company tells Axios.

South Australia receives $113m to become “Plant-based Protein Manufacturing and Export Powerhouse” [Vegconomist]

• The Australian Government has announced a $113 million funding package for a project led by Australian Plant Proteins (APP) to make South Australia a new hub of plant protein production, with the Minister for Finance stating this development puts South Australia “ahead of the pack in the manufacturing of products for the high-growth domestic and booming global plant-based foods market”.

IIM-Ahmedabad’s CIIE to set up $100 mn climate tech fund [BusinessToday.In]

• Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), the incubator-cum-accelerator arm of IIM Ahmedabad, is planning to launch a new climate tech fund with a target corpus of $100 million, a senior executive at the organisation told Business Today.

Pathways, Frameworks, Case Studies, Research, Climate Science

Europe plant-based food and beverage market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 8.87% during 2022-2027 [Vegconomist]

• The “Europe Plant-Based Food and Beverage Market – Growth, Trends and Forecasts (2022 – 2027)” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering.
• Europe plant-based food and beverage market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.87% during the forecast period (2022-2027).

2021 record year for alt protein investment, with APAC showing significant funding growth [Green Queen]

• Non-profit think tank the Good Food Institute (GFI) APAC has released a report documenting the alt-protein sector’s growth within the APAC region and globally over the past year. Highlights include a 60 percent increase in funding into the sector on a global level, with fermentation and cultivated projects claiming more funding than ever before. Overall, alt protein companies raised $5 billion worldwide, with $312 million invested in APAC.

Activated Carbon Market Size [2021] | to extend USD 15.45 billion by 2028 with stunning CAGR of 9.6% CAGR [Digital Journal]

• The global activated carbon market size reached USD 7.46 Billion in 2020 and is expected to register a revenue CAGR of 9.6%, during the forecast period, according to latest analysis by Emergen Research. Some major factors driving global activated carbon market revenue growth include rising demand for mercury control technology for industrial air purification and increasing research and development initiatives to develop newly activated carbon products for various applications.

New study from StrategyR highlights a $4.9 billion global market for carbon capture and storage by 2026 [Yahoo Finance]

• A new market study published by Global Industry Analysts Inc., (GIA) the premier market research company, released its report titled "Carbon Capture and Storage - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics". The report presents fresh perspectives on opportunities and challenges in a significantly transformed post COVID-19 marketplace.

IPCC report forecasts impending and unavoidable climate hazards over the next two decades [Climate Action]

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has finalised the second part of the Sixth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, the Working Group II contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report.