ImpactAlpha, March 14 — TPG Rise, the impact investing arm of TPG, last year raised more than $5 billion for a growth-stage climate fund targeting companies in clean energy, decarbonized transport and agriculture and natural solutions.
TPG Rise Climate has backed renewable natural gas company Element Markets and Bluesource, a nature-based carbon credits platform; Nextracker, a provider of commercial solar tracking systems; and Tata Motors’ Ionity to catalyze electric vehicle adoption in India.
Its latest investment: Monarch, a joint venture between Saint Louis, Mo.-based renewable natural gas producer Roeslein Alternative Energy and Smithfield Renewables, the clean energy investment group of Smithfield Foods.
The deal will make TPG Rise an equal partner in the joint venture, which will support Monarch’s anaerobic digestion facilities to produce renewable natural gas and sustainable fertilizer, while sequestering the methane and carbon.
Methane reduction
Applying Roeslein’s anaerobic digester technology to Smithfield’s hog farms is “a significant and meaningful step towards addressing methane emissions at their source,” said TPG Rise’s Marc Mezvinsky. Factory farm animal production accounts for one-third of agricultural methane emissions.
“With capital and expertise from TPG Rise Climate, Monarch will continue to advance RAE’s technology and commercialize its adoption to large and small agricultural operations across the country,” said Roeslein’s Chris Roach, who will lead the joint venture as CEO.
Anaerobic digesters
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency highlighted anaerobic digestion as key to the Biden Administration’s plan to reduce methane emissions by 30% by the end of the decade.
A wave of companies, including Bioenergy Devco and Amp Americas, are building anaerobic digestion facilities to help cut methane emissions.
