Danish Renewable Energy Infrastructure Fund Closes on $700 Mn

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) new fund, the New Markets Fund I, which will invest in renewable energy infrastructure targeting fast-growing major new economies primarily in Asia and Latin America, reached the first close of USD 700 million.

“Obtaining first close commitments of USD 700m from a group of leading Nordic investors is an important proof of investor confidence in CIP’s approach to energy infrastructure investments and a testament to the track record built with CIP’s Western Europe and North America focused energy infrastructure funds CI I, CI II, and CI III. The CI NMF I is a significant step in CIP’s continued expansion as it broadens our offering to also include infrastructure funds targeted at fast-growing major new economies,” says Jakob Poulsen, Managing Partner in CIP.

With commitments from cornerstone investors PensionDanmark (PD), Arbejdsmarkedets Tillægspension (ATP), Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP), and Lægernes Pension. The fund is expected to achieve its final close with total commitments of approximately USD 1 billion within the next nine months.

The New Markets Fund I will target greenfield renewable energy infrastructure projects primarily in Asia and Latin America as well as certain countries in Eastern Europe and Africa with scale, growth, and liquidity. It will apply the same value creation and de-risking approach as CIP’s existing OECD-focused funds and invest in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and waste-to-energy and transmission grid systems among others.

“There is a large and growing need for new energy infrastructure outside of North America and Europe, which are targeted by the existing CIP funds. The New Markets Fund will pursue the significant market opportunity in renewable energy infrastructure investments in the fast-growing economies primarily in Asia and Latin America, and exploit CIP’s existing industrial skills, networks and de-risking approach to create value for our investors,” added Poulsen.

The New Markets Fund has a term of ten years and will apply a “build-and-exit” strategy i.e. the fund will focus on greenfield projects, fund construction and exit the investments once plants are operational.

With the addition of CI NMF I, CIP has five funds under management with total commitments of EUR ~7.5bn. The existing funds CI I, CI A, CI II, and CI III focus on Western Europe and North America. 

Reprinted with permission from iamrenew.com