Dive Brief:

  • Decarbonization Partners, a joint venture from BlackRock and Singapore-based investment firm Temasek, received $1.4 billion in investments for its first late-stage venture capital private equity fund, it announced Thursday. 
  • The fund attracted 30 institutional investors across 18 countries, including insurance company Allstate, bank BBVA and French oil supermajor TotalEnergies, who, collectively, surpassed the fund’s initial target close of $1 billion, according to the release.
  • The Decarbonization Partners Fund will invest in companies “driving intentional, material and measurable decarbonization outcomes” by focusing on companies with “de-risked” technologies ready to be scaled that can benefit from BlackRock and Temasek’s platforms. 

Dive Insight:

The Decarbonization Partners venture was announced in April 2021 and officially launched in 2022, according to the release. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink announced during an October earnings call that the fund had surpassed $1 billion in investments during Q3 of 2023. 

Decarbonization Partners said the diverse range of investors the fund attracted “reflects the global nature of the opportunity around climate investing.” Decarbonization Partners Global Head Meghan Sharp said the funding also shows “the unique strength” of the partnership and its platform.

“Clients have shown conviction in our ability to execute our strategy of supporting the acceleration of decarbonization and the transition to a net-zero economy through our investments,” Sharp said in the release.

Decarbonization Partners has invested in seven companies so far, and has six focus areas: carbon capture, storage and utilization, bio and low-carbon products, next generation energy, advanced mobility, carbon management services and digital transformation. Its portfolio includes two companies that produce low-carbon materials — biotech company MycoWorks and low-carbon hydrogen producer Monolith — and two battery companies — Group14 and Ascend Elements — as well as carbon management and software firm Carbon Direct. 

The fund has also invested in two additional companies since October: China-based commercial EV fleet management company DST and California-based thermal energy storage heat and power company Antora Energy.

Temasek CEO Dilhan Pillay said in the release that collective efforts like this funding round are “critical” in striving for global net-zero ambitions, and the funding will help accelerate decarbonization at-scale.

​​“Addressing the climate crisis requires innovation at scale, as well as significant and sustained financial resources to enable that,” Pillay said. “No single entity can do it on their own.”

Fink — whose firm has looked to increase its foothold in the infrastructure sector — said there is an “enormous” demand for energy infrastructure as countries look to move to lower-carbon power sources, while maintaining “energy security.” 

“Decarbonization Partners brings together the best of [both companies] to identify generational investment opportunities in climate technology that we believe will help to bring down the green premium, enable a more affordable energy transition, and generate long-term financial returns,” the BlackRock CEO said in the release.

BlackRock — a common target for the anti-ESG movement  — acquired Global Infrastructure Partners for $12.5 billion in January, citing a move towards global decarbonization at the time. The move combined GIP’s $100 billion in infrastructure assets under management with BlackRock’s existing $50 billion infrastructure platform.