US policymakers may be trying to slow the green energy transition, but just about everyone else seems to be full speed ahead. Energy Impact Partners is first-hand proof.
The New York-based energy investment firm works with utilities, tech firms, real estate owners and other big energy users to identify new technologies they want, and gives them an opportunity to invest in their development and growth. It has more than 75 investor partners, including utilities Duke Energy and EDF, insurer Aviva, rental car and fleet management company Enterprise, and self-storage company Public Storage. After 10 years, more than 125 deals and three dozen exits (and a few busts), the firm has closed its third and largest fund at nearly $1.4 billion.
“The successful raise of this fund is a confirmation of our model,” said EIP’s Hans Kobler in a statement.
A key driver in interest for the fund: the growth of energy-guzzling AI and data centers.
“Energy and AI are no longer separate domains; they are fundamentally intertwined,” the company said.
Bigger tickets
EIP raised just under $700 million for its first fund and $1 billion for its second. The earlier funds backed many Series A and B-stage companies, many of which have capital-intensive but unproven technologies, like fusion power developer Zap Energy.
With its third fund it’s focusing on growth-stage private equity deals and helping companies with commercially-proven technologies scale.
