Private equity firm EQT said on Thursday it is launching a new energy transition investment strategy with the acquisition of ju:niz Energy, a German battery storage business.
Under EQT Infrastructure, the strategy will see investment directed towards companies operating in new energy transition infrastructure, such as electrification, electric vehicle charging, electric heat pumps, advanced recycling and battery storage across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
The acquisition of ju:niz Energy, headquartered in Aschheim, Germany, from its founder for an undisclosed amount, will be funded with balance sheet capital, EQT said.
Investments under the strategy will average 300 million euros to 500 million euros ($315-$525 million) over time, said Jan Vesely, head of EQT transition infrastructure in New York.
“Energy storage is a key theme as well as distributed energy driven by unprecedented growth in electricity consumption due to AI and electrification of transportation,” Vesely said.
EQT intends to provide capital and expertise to grow businesses and support a transition to clean energy.
The team will be led by Vesely and Asis Echaniz, head of EQT transition infrastructure Europe in Madrid, supported by the existing 130 employees in its infrastructure division.
EQT‘s infrastructure business totals around 72 billion euros ($75.87 billion) globally. Since it began more than 15 years ago, it has invested more than 17 billion euros across 25 deals.
EQT CEO Christian Sinding said last year that the firm was in the early stages of exploring an energy transition fund.
Press reports suggest the fund’s target size is around 4 billion euros, in line with comments from Sinding who said in 2024’s half-year report that EQT typically aims for first-time funds of between 1.5 billion and 5 billion euros.
EQT‘s Active Core fund on Monday acquired together with GIC a joint majority stake in UK smart metering company Calisen.
EQT is in advanced talks for further investments in the transition infrastructure space, Vesely said.
Reuters
