CNP Assurances has entered a joint venture with Meridiam to invest as much as €500m in green infrastructure projects.
The French insurance group said the partnership had launched the Meridiam Transition fund.
The fund, aimed at institutional investors, will invest in greenfield assets, with a focus on France.
Frédéric Lavenir, chief executive at CNP Assurances, said: “As an institutional investor, it is both our responsibility and in our interest as a long-term player to contribute to developing new financing models to respond to the challenges of energy transition and climate change.”
Meridiam Transition will target projects in energy efficiency, local energy services, power and gas grids and innovative renewable energies for the fund, which has a 20-year investment horizon.
Meridiam chief executive Thierry Déau, who founded the company in 2005, added: “The energy transition, and the associated challenge of climate change, is also a fantastic chance to offer long-term investment opportunities to institutional investors and to create a virtuous circle between savings and local projects.”
Meridiam, according to its website, has rail and road projects in its French portfolio.
The company manages three funds – Meridiam I, Meridiam Europe II and Meridiam North America II – as well as separately managed accounts.
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