EIT InnoEnergy, a major European investor and innovation driver for the energy transition, has raised over €140 million in equity in a private placement financing round.
New strategic investors (Société Générale, Santander CIB, PULSE – CMA CGM Energy Fund, Renault Group, Stena Recycling and NIIT) and existing shareholders (Siemens Financial Services, Schneider Electric, Capgemini, Volkswagen AG, ING, Koolen Industries, GROUPE IDEC and Engie) participated in the round.
Greentech Investors VW, Schneider Electric, Siemens a.o.
With the funds now raised, InnoEnergy will increasingly make new investments and at the same time accompany its current 200 portfolio companies on their growth path. In addition, InnoEnergy will push the establishment of new, green industrial companies through company buildings, among other things, and also advance its expansion in the USA.
Since its foundation in 2010, InnoEnergy has been investing in innovative, mostly CAPEX-intensive cleantech companies at an early stage and providing them with comprehensive support until their commercial breakthrough. InnoEnergy’s unique ecosystem of over 1,200 partners plays a key role in this context, helping InnoEnergy to accelerate and scale up the market success of its portfolio companies and reduce existing business risks. The InnoEnergy ecosystem includes industrial companies of all sizes, investors (public and private, equity and debt), universities, research centres and public administration.
InnoEnergy’s investment portfolio currently consists of 200 companies, including three Unicorns.
Together, they are on track to generate a cumulative turnover of €110 billion and save 2.1 billion tonnes of CO2e by 2030. In total, these companies have raised €9.7 billion in investments to date.
The successful financing round will enable InnoEnergy to make an even more effective contribution
contribution to achieving the goal of climate neutrality by 2050, which is enshrined in
2050.
Christian Müller, member of the management board of EIT InnoEnergy and CEO for the DACH region, said: “We are extremely pleased that we have achieved all our goals in connection with the private placement. For on the one hand, we were able to win new strategic partners for our outstanding Cap Table. And on the other hand, several of our existing shareholders have invested in us again. This means that we have sufficient capital at our disposal to double our impact. With the accelerated energy transition and increased ambitions for reindustrialisation in the Western world, unique opportunities are opening up for InnoEnergy.
opportunities for InnoEnergy, our portfolio companies and our ecosystem partners”.
Steffen Grosse, CEO Equity Finance, Siemens Financial Services, commented: “Expanding our partnership with EIT InnoEnergy and its portfolio companies underlines our commitment to sustainability. EIT InnoEnergy brings together the right people, resources and innovative technologies to drive Europe’s green agenda. We look forward to continuing to be part of this shared journey, bringing our expertise in the areas of finance and technology.”
Nikolai Ardey, Executive Director, Volkswagen Group Innovation, Volkswagen AG, added: “Volkswagen wants to play a decisive role in shaping the decarbonisation of mobility today and tomorrow. In addition to our own activities, we are increasingly focusing on cooperations with highly innovative start-ups. As a global company, we can help transform good ideas into industrially scalable solutions. With our renewed investment in EIT InnoEnergy, we are strengthening our successful cooperation, particularly in the areas of e-mobility and renewable energies, and supporting the company in expanding its activities.”
About EIT InnoEnergy:
EIT InnoEnergy is the leading innovation driver for the energy transition. As such, it brings together the necessary technologies, business model innovations and competencies to accelerate the European Green Deal, drive the decarbonisation and reindustrialisation of Europe, while enhancing its energy security.
reindustrialisation of Europe, while increasing its energy security.
Recognised by Pitchbook as the world’s most active energy investor of 2022 and by Sifted as one of Europe’s ten most active deep tech investors in early 2023, InnoEnergy supports innovation in a number of areas. These include energy storage, transport and mobility, renewable energy, energy efficiency, hard-to-decarbonise industries, smart grids, and sustainable buildings and cities.
InnoEnergy is the driving force behind three strategic European initiatives: the
European Battery Alliance (EBA), the European Green Hydrogen Acceleration Center (EGHAC) and the European Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance (ESIA).
Founded in 2010, InnoEnergy is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), an independent EU body that has been promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe since 2008. Since its inception, EIT InnoEnergy has screened more than 7,000 start-ups, brought more than 300 products to market and guided its portfolio companies in filing more than 370 patents. Today, EIT InnoEnergy has a team of over 200 people with offices across Europe and in Boston, USA. www.innoenergy.com