Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has reached final close on the world’s largest clean hydrogen fund.
The CI Energy Transition Fund I (CI ETF I) was oversubscribed and closed at the hard cap of €3 billion (£2.58bn), making it “the largest dedicated clean hydrogen fund globally” according to the Danish fund manager.
Investors spanned the Nordics (roughly 25% of commitments), Europe (45%), Asia-Pacific (20%) and North America (10%) with approximately a 50/50 split between existing investors in CIP funds and new investors.
The fund is set to invest in various clean infrastructure, including industrial scale Power-to-X projects, with a focus on greenfield projects in the OECD. CIP said it would be targeting solutions to help the decarbonization of sectors such as agriculture, aviation, shipping and steel production through the use of green fuels and feedstock and CO2-free fertilizers.
CIP said this enables institutional investors to participate in the decarbonisation of these so-called “hard to abate” industries.
Once the portfolio is de-risked, bankable projects are expected to have core infrastructure characteristics, including long term offtake contracts.
A final investment decision (FID) has already been taken on one investment and ownership secured for several other industrial-scale, developmental Power-to-X projects.
Projects across Western Europe (Denmark, Norway, Spain, Portugal), South America (Chile), and Australia are expected to produce green hydrogen, green ammonia, and sustainable aviation fuel based on GW scale renewable energy production and electrolysis capacity.
“Solutions such as Power-to-X will be key for countries and industries to take the next big leap within reaching the commitments of the Paris agreement and achieving energy independence. As an industry pioneer and one of the global market leaders in greenfield renewable infrastructure investments, CIP is uniquely positioned to invest in this segment,” noted managing partner Jakob Baruël Poulsen.
CIP’s investor base currently comprises around 65 institutional investors, primarily pension funds, life insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, asset managers, and family offices.
The infrastructure investment group has commitments across solar, on- and offshore wind and other energy sectors, and has secured rights to build new projects in the recent ScotWind leasing round, and offshore New York.
“We are very pleased to welcome a prominent group of existing and new institutional investors to CI ETF I and are delighted that investors share our confidence in and appetite for clean energy infrastructure projects and invest alongside CIP in the next phase of the energy transition,” Mr Poulsen added.
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