By Mario Marroquin
HitecVision has secured over €1 billion ($1.03 billion) in
LP commitments for its energy transition fund and first offshore wind
investment strategy. The private equity energy firm from Norway said
investments in the HitecVision New Energy Fund exceeded the initial $516 million
target and reached $903 million.
HitecVision said approximately $557 million has already been
deployed to three onshore and offshore wind investments, district heating with
carbon capture, and other energy transition initiatives.
The PE firm said the following investors made commitments to
the new energy fund:
·
AIMS Imprint Group of Goldman Sachs Asset
Management
·
Ardian
·
Första AP-fonden (AP1)
·
KLP
·
Los Angeles County Employees Retirement
Association
·
Manulife Financial Corporation
·
Sparebank1 Forsikring
“The New Energy Fund is the first HitecVision fund to
address [the transition from fossil fuels to a new energy system], and in the
future, all our new portfolio companies will be companies that contribute to
the energy transition,” HitecVision founding Partner and CEO Ole Ertvaag said
in a statement. “We are, however, also immensely proud of our legacy from the
oil and gas industry, and we intend to remain a good owner for our existing
portfolio companies in that industry and their thousands of employees, as we
transition to a low-carbon economy.”
In 2021, a joint-venture backed by HitecVision via U.K.-based
NEO Energy purchased 21 non-operated assets in the central and northern North
Sea from ExxonMobil for approximately $1.19 billion. NEO Energy said it also
acquired assets from Total and Zennor in 2020 and 2021.
HitecVision is also part of the joint venture by Hafslund Eco and Infranode that purchased a 50% stake in Fortum Oslo Varme – the largest district heating firm in Norway – for approximately $1 billion in March. Reuters reported then that the city government of Oslo agreed to developing a capture program at the facility.
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