Net Zero Investor 8/28 - 9/3

Individual Deals and Market Watch

Rivian files for IPO, $80 billion target is 350 times Tesla’s IPO valuation [Green Car Reports]

• Rivian disclosed that it has submitted its S-1 registration to the U.S. SEC. Bloomberg noted that Rivian would seek roughly an $80 billion valuation, citing sources who asked not to be identified. Rivian noted that the IPO will occur after an SEC review, but Bloomberg noted its sources said the company would like to do a IPO around Thanksgiving (Nov. 25).

Quanta Services to buy Blattner for up to USD 3bn [Renewables Now]

• Quanta Services Inc (NYSE:PWR) has struck a deal worth up to USD 3 billion (EUR 2.53bn) to take over Blattner Holding Company, which provides front-end engineering, procurement, project management and construction services to the renewable energy industry.

Adani Green pockets USD 750m from maiden green bond sale [Renewables Now]

• Indian renewable power producer Adani Green Energy Ltd (BOM:541450) has raised USD 750 million (EUR 631.5m) in its first issue of green bonds, seeking to finance its under-construction projects.

Sweden’s AP3 buys $500m Texas timberland from CatchMark-managed JV [IPE Real Assets]

• AP3, Stockholm, acquired 300,000 acres of eastern Texas timberland through Hancock Natural Resource Group, the 466.9 billion Swedish kronor ($53 billion) pension fund said. [Pensions & Investments]

Ofgem unlocks £450m network technology innovation fund to accelerate the UK’s transition to net zero [Climate Action]

• The fund will unlock greener ways to travel, and to heat and power homes and businesses, helping turn the UK into the ‘Silicon Valley’ of energy.
• The fund is part of Ofgem’s RII02 price controls for the electricity system operator and the network companies that operate GB’s energy pipes and wires.
• The £450 million fund, which will be approved by Ofgem and managed in partnership with Innovate UK, will help position the UK as a world leader in energy innovation.

Funding and M&A roundup: Battery storage company Form Energy raises $240 million [Mercom India]

• Form Energy – a startup focusing on making battery systems that can store renewable energy (solar and wind) for longer durations, announced the close of a $240 million Series D financing round led by ArcelorMittal’s XCarb innovation fund. TPG’s global impact investing platform TPG Rise participated in the Series D, investing through TPG Rise Climate. The other investors participating in the round include Perry Creek Capital, along with existing investors NGP Energy Technology Partners III, Coatue, Temasek, Energy Impact Partners (EIP), Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), Prelude Ventures, MIT’s The Engine, Capricorn Investment Group, Eni Next, and Macquarie Capital. This brings Form Energy’s total funds raised to over $360 million.

Innergex raises USD 200m from bought deal, private placement [Renewables Now]

• Canadian renewable power producer Innergex Renewable Energy Inc (TSE:INE) has raised CAD 201.3 million (USD 17m/EUR 14.3m) in gross proceeds by completing a previously announced bought deal equity financing of common shares.

E-bike brand VanMoof's latest investment brings its total to $182 million [Bicycle Retailer]

• Dutch e-bike manufacturer VanMoof announced a $128 million Series C minority investment led by an Asia-based private equity firm.
• The funding, which raises VanMoof's total to $182 million in less than two years, will be used to expand production, refine hardware and software components, and make e-bikes more accessible to consumers.

Aquila European Renewables launches EUR-100m placing [Renewables Now]

• London-listed Aquila European Renewables Income Fund plc (LON:AERS), or AERIF, has launched a share placing, seeking to raise EUR 100 million (USD 118m) for further investments.

Carbon price rises above €60 to set new record [FT]

• The EU carbon price touched an all-time high on Monday (8/30), as the prospect of tighter environmental regulations, as well as a brief reduction in supply this week, pushed the market to a new record.
• Futures prices passed €61 in intraday trading on Monday (8/30) — double their levels from a year ago — before falling back to close at €60.60.

Amazon announces investment in nature-based carbon removal solutions in Brazil with The Nature Conservancy [The Nature Conservancy]

• As part of its efforts to support global solutions to the climate crisis, Amazon today announced the launch of the Agroforestry and Restoration Accelerator in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, a global environmental organization. The Accelerator will create a more sustainable source of income for thousands of local farmers in the Brazilian Amazonian state of Pará, while also restoring native rainforests and fighting climate change by naturally trapping and storing carbon.

Macro Commitments

W12tr ($10.3 bn) earmarked for carbon neutrality in 2022 [The Korea Herald]

• South Korea plans to spend about 12 trillion won ($10.3 billion) next year on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and responding to the climate crisis to pursue carbon neutrality, the government said in its 2022 budget plan released Tuesday.
• The plan calls for allocating 8.3 trillion won to low-carbon projects in four major sectors -- energy, industry, mobility and land -- and establishing a climate response fund worth 2.5 trillion won.

Eskom considers $7.2 billion in wind and solar investment by 2030 [Bloomberg Green]

• Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., which supplies almost all South Africa’s electricity from coal-fired power plants, is considering spending 106 billion rand ($7.2 billion) on wind and solar energy by 2030.
• The investment plan, which Eskom could carry out by itself or in partnerships, is the most detailed demonstration yet of the utility’s ambition to move away from coal by taking advantage of the nation’s abundant wind and solar resources.

Munich Re initiates EUR-1bn green bond sale [Renewables Now]

• German reinsurance company Munich Re has placed a EUR-1-billion (USD 1.19bn) green subordinated bond in order to finance investment in sustainable projects, including renewable energy.

India, UK agree on $1.2 billion investment in green projects, renewable energy [Deccan Herald]

• India and the UK agreed on a $1.2 billion investment in green projects and renewable energy to boost India’s green growth ambitions at the 11th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue between Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her British counterpart Rishi Sunak, driving forward the bilateral agenda of an Enhanced Trade Partnership.

CDL and MCL Land secure $847m green loan package to build 1,000+ sustainable homes [edie]

• A $429m loan package has been confirmed for Northumberland Road and a $418m package for Tengah Garden Walk; the former is from DBS Bank and the latter from UOB. CDL and MCL Land said in a statement that both facilities are some of the largest green loans in real estate in Singapore to date. Both facilities, the statement added, are aligned with the green loan principles issued by the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association and global Loan Market Association.
• CDL’s chief executive Sherman Kwek said the company has “demonstrated that green financing offers an alternative financing avenue that plays a pivotal role in channelling capital towards building smarter, greener and more climate-friendly infrastructure”.

AC Energy to issue USD-400m green bond [Renewables Now]

• A subsidiary of Philippine-based AC Energy Corp (PSE:ACEN) will issue green bonds to raise gross proceeds of USD 400 million (EUR 338.5m).

European Energy launches EUR-300m green bond to back wind, solar growth [Renewables Now]

• European Energy A/S has placed a EUR-300-million (USD 355.3m) corporate green bond, touted as the largest one of its kind on Nasdaq Copenhagen and aimed at supporting investment in wind and solar.

Pathways, Frameworks, Case Studies, Research, Climate Science

Green bonds market on track for a record half trillion year [Climate Action]

• Green, Social and Sustainability (GSS) bonds, Sustainability-linked bonds (SLB), and Transition bonds reached $496.1 billion in H1 2021 as markets surge.
• The Climate Bonds Initiative’s report states the half a trillion total represents 59% year-on-year growth from the equivalent period in 2020. This sets the sustainable debt market on track to reach record highs.

European ESG assets shrank by $2 trillion after greenwash rules [Bloomberg Green]

• The European market for sustainable investments contracted by $2 trillion between 2018 and 2020 following the introduction of anti-greenwashing rules, according to data from the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance.

Majority of climate-themed funds are misaligned with Paris goals [Pensions Expert]

• More than half of climate-themed funds in the market are misaligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, with State Street Corporation, UBS Group and BlackRock having the highest negative scores, new research has shown.
• Climate change think-tank InfluenceMap analysed 723 funds with assets under management of more than $330bn (£240bn), which were split into two categories: 593 were considered broad environmental, social and governance funds while the remaining 130 were classified as climate-themed, due to key words in their title such as 'low carbon', 'fossil fuel free', 'green energy'.

1 billion children at ‘extreme’ risk due to climate crisis, Unicef warns [Green Queen]

• In a new report, Unicef puts forward a staggering number of one billion children who are to be under “extremely high risk” of climate change impacts. The figure is nearly half of the world’s current child population of 2.2 billion. The report is part of the agency’s first child-focused climate risk index, which analyses children’s risk from a child’s perspective and ranks countries based on children’s exposure and vulnerability to environmental shocks.

Resting on climate action a $11 trillion opportunity for India: Report [The Hindu Business Line]

• India must act now to prevent the country losing $35 trillion in economic potential over the next 50 years due to unmitigated climate change, a new report from the Deloitte Economics Institute says.
• The report, titled ‘India’s turning point: How climate action can drive our economic future’, also reveals how the country could gain $11 trillion in economic value instead over the same period, by limiting rising global temperatures and realising its potential to ‘export decarbonisation’ to the world.

Renewables could meet 100% demand in Australia at certain times of day by 2025, report says [The Guardian]

• Renewables will meet 100% of consumer demand for electricity at certain times of the day by 2025 if large-scale wind and solar development continues at current rates, the Australian Energy Market Operator has said.
• Aemo’s annual grid reliability snapshot notes the penetration of renewable generation in Australia reached a record high of 57% twice in 2021 – in April and again in August.

Introduction of new-age algorithms to induce hybrid electric vehicles market growth during 2021-2031 [Fact.MR]

• According to Fact.MR, the global market for hybrid electric vehicles is anticipated to showcase a stellar growth trajectory over the forecast period 2021-2031, registering a CAGR of over 14%. By 2021, the market is projected to reach US$ 29 Bn. Growth is majorly stimulated by an overall tilt towards fuel-efficient automobiles with the objective of alleviating environmental costs associated with fossil fuel consumption.

Africa needs to invest $130 billion per year to go net-zero by 2050 [Oil Price]

• "The report, based on the work of renowned academic Dr Sven Teske from Sydney University, demonstrates how a Just Recovery plan could be achieved for US$130 billion per year and funded through public finance from the global North, putting an end to tax dodging and dropping the debt," the organization also said. "It also highlights the potential to create 7 million new jobs in renewable energy."

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, today 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.