This is the third climate tech fund by the Dutch investment platform which has seen assets under management jump 80% in a year.
Amsterdam-based Carbon Equity, an investment platform for private market climate investments, has announced the first close of its third climate tech fund after raising €60m from around 160 investors in four months.
Jacqueline van den Ende, CEO and co-founder of Carbon Equity, said she was “extremely happy and proud to have once again gained the trust of so many investors”.
“They recognise that climate technology is key to developing innovative solutions that both protect the planet and are profitable. Thanks to private equity, an asset class previously accessible only to large investors, they can now make a real impact with an attractive target return”, Van den Ende said.
Lower minimum investment
One in four investors in the new fund, who ranged from private to professional investors, family offices and foundations, are existing Carbon Equity investors.
Because investors can start investing with a minimum investment of €100,000, “many people join every year to build diversification over several years”, Van den Ende told Impact Investor. Carbon Equity “is really focused on helping people invest in the theme – climate technology and infrastructure – over several years”, she added.
About half of potential investors in Carbon Equity funds would like to be able to join for less than €100,000, Van den Ende said, and the fund is planning to lower its minimum investment threshold. In order to make its funds even more accessible, Carbon Equity plans to lower its minimum investment.
The firm said it had opened a waiting list for lower deposits, which is expected to be served on a first come, first served basis with limited availability this summer. Professional investors who meet certain criteria can participate from as little as €50,000.
“We see a great opportunity to serve a much larger target group with a lower entry amount,” Van den Ende said. “We do not expect the lower entry level to have any effect on our funds – we are still offering the same product and, in addition, continue to target, for example, family offices investing with large amounts.”
Unlocking billions
In March, as reported by Impact Investor, Carbon Equity announced the final close of its second climate tech fund after raising €100m, exceeding an initial target of €75m.
The investment platform, which was founded in 2021, aims to unlock billions of capital from private investors to help solve the world’s biggest challenges, including climate change.
Since its foundation four years ago, it has raised €250m from 900 investors, including entrepreneurs, CEOs, private equity professionals, family offices, and institutional investors. To date, Carbon Equity has invested in more than 120 companies through 18 funds, including in firms producing carbon-free cement, plant-based meat and green hydrogen.
This latest fund is aiming to raise at least €125m to be invested in 150 climate tech companies through private equity and venture capital funds in Europe and the US.
‘Clear trend’
In the past twelve months, Carbon Equity has seen its assets under management jump 80% while the number of investors on its platform rose 75%.
Van den Ende said that surge reflected “a clear trend that investors are increasingly looking for alternatives that offer a combination of impact, diversification and risk-adjusted returns”.
Investors were increasingly “moving away from the traditional 60/40 equity and bond allocation in the portfolio and adding a mix of private equity. In this, climate technology is a fast-growing segment”, Van den Ende said.
