The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), part of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), is today announcing a €125m commitment to a new fund - Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners II (FEIP II) - to invest in renewable energy generation; energy storage solutions; and grid infrastructure.
The investment is part of ISIF’s ambition to seek to invest €1bn in climate-related investments over a 5-year period. This new investment brings total ISIF commitments to climate investments to €776m since 2021, representing over 75% of the overall target.
Earlier this year, ISIF announced commitments to three separate climate funds: a €200m investment in Copenhagen Infrastructure V, the latest Flagship fund of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (“CIP”); a €50m investment in Impax New Energy Investors IV Fund; and a $30m investment in ArcTern Ventures Fund III. ISIF also announced €36m of commitments into two funds targeting climate-tech and health-tech investments as part of its €50m initiative to promote female-led investment funds.
FEIP II will focus on three subsectors of energy infrastructure; renewable energy generation; energy storage solutions; and grid infrastructure. 70%+ of the Fund will target greenfield projects which it will aim to build and bring into commercial operation.
Foresight is a leading investment manager in real assets and capital for growth, with c. €14bn in assets under management across renewable energy infrastructure and SME private equity. ISIF has previously announced a commitment of €25m to another Foresight fund - the AIB Foresight SME Impact Fund, an impact-focused private equity fund managed by Foresight Group which seeks to grow businesses and implement sustainable best practices.
Foresight has a strong track record in Ireland and is supporting the development of two large scale projects of national significance: the Silvermines pumped storage hydro project in Co. Tipperary and the MaresConnect interconnector project which will further connect the Irish and UK electricity grids via FEIP I, the predecessor fund.
It is expected that Foresight’s Dublin office will grow further following today’s announcement.
Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath TD said:
“I welcome today’s announcement by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) of its €125m commitment to the new Foresight Group fund - Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners II (FEIP II). This new investment brings total ISIF commitments to climate investments to €776m since 2021, representing over 75% of their overall target.
As FEIP II will focus on three subsectors of energy infrastructure; renewable energy generation; energy storage solutions; and grid infrastructure, ISIF’s commitment here will actively contribute to Ireland’s transition to low-carbon energy systems.
The commitment announced today shows ISIF’s continued appetite to invest across the spectrum of available Climate investments which I fully support and encourage.”
Nick Ashmore, Director, ISIF:
“This commitment is a prime example of ISIF’s ability to deploy capital in a targeted and commercial manner to tackle climate change through better technology and sustainable power sources. Our ambition of investing €1bn in climate projects over a 5-year period is now within sight, demonstrating our commitment to climate action. This partnership with Foresight will further enable the transition to Net Zero in line with the Government’s Climate Action Plan.”
Dan Wells and Richard Thompson, Fund Managers, Foresight said:
“We are delighted that ISIF has made a commitment to FEIP II at its first closing. Welcoming ISIF into the fund alongside our existing pool of leading institutional investors in both FEIP I and FEIP II is a significant achievement. We look forward to a long-term partnership with ISIF, through which we aim to contribute substantially to the continued build-out of clean energy infrastructure, including in the Republic of Ireland which we view as a leading market within the European energy transition."