Dealflow | February 1, 2023

Al Gore’s Just Climate makes first three climate tech investments

Amy Cortese
ImpactAlpha Editor

Amy Cortese

ImpactAlpha, Feb. 1 – The unit of Generation Investment Management, led by David Blood and Al Gore, invested in three European companies focused on green steel, biogas, and electric charging solutions.

The investments “have the potential to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through outsized greenhouse gas emissions abatement in the next 10 years,” said Just Climate’s Clara Barby.

Just Climate invested in the Swiss EV charging company ABB E-Mobility, which makes products for home charging, commercial bus depots and electric vehicle fleets. ABB, which operates a plant in South Carolina, has sold more than a million chargers globally and is preparing to go public in Switzerland later this year.

Other investors in ABB’s $355 million round included Porsche SE, General Atlantic’s BeyondNetZero and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.

Hard to abate

Just Climate focuses on companies with potential to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors that may be considered too capital-intensive or unproven at scale for investors. Sweden’s H2 Green Steel uses green hydrogen to replace coal in steelmaking. Just Climate participated in the company’s $191 million Series B raise last October. H2 is building a first-of-its-kind green steel plant in Sweden.

The third investment, Meva Energy, also based in Sweden, turns wood and agricultural waste into biogas that can be used by mid-sized industrial companies in place of fossil fuels.

Just Climate, formed in October 2021, is backed by Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, IMAS Foundation, Harvard Management Company, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Hall Capital Partners.