E.ON’s Future Energy Ventures has set up a new fund to fund startups focused on net zero.

Future Energy Ventures, the venture arm of Germany head-quartered electric utility E.ON SE (ETR: EOAN), has established a new, independent Luxembourg-domiciled venture capital fund, Future Energy Ventures Fund I SCA SICAV-RAIF. The new fund aims to become Europe’s leading venture capital investor focused on the energy transition and will target Series A and B investments in ventures that aim to transform the traditional energy value chain towards net zero. (Businesswire)

In a move that signals a future for Future Energy Ventures independent and outside of the E.ON group, a new company named Future Energy Ventures GmbH (FEV) has been licensed by BaFin, Germany’s financial regulator.

“The BaFin license enables FEV to accelerate raising capital from investors and fulfils the key pre-requisite for FEV to act as an advisor on the management of the Fund,” said Future Energy Ventures in a statement.

The existing venture team will move to FEV and further build up on their investing successes. The team has exited 10 investments, delivering a realized 2.2 MOIC and 39% IRR.

So far, the team has executed 50+ transactions in only six years.

E.ON: Future Energy Ventures Fund I SCA SICAV-RAIF

Key features of the new fund are:

• Target size of the fund is €250 million
• Expected final closure in 2023
• Series A and B investments in net zero-focused climate startups
• Investment themes in energy: future energy, future cities, and future technologies
• 100% of its capital will go toward sustainable investments, in accordance with Article 9 of the SFDR regulation

“With 30 billion dollars of VC investments into climate tech companies in 2021 and 70% of the global economy committed to achieving net-zero, climate tech has become a primary investment strategy – and rightly so if we are to make any progress towards net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” said Jan Lozek, Founder and Managing Partner of FEV.

“We are engaged in advanced discussions with a number of well-known strategic investors as well as institutional investors and family offices,” Lozek added. “With an expanded base of like-minded investors, we look forward to teaming up with exceptional entrepreneurs to further decarbonize energy and help build an energy system for future generations.”

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