Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) is seeking to create the world’s largest renewable-energy infrastructure fund and has already raised €1.5bn from investors that include PensionDanmark, AP Pension and KLP.

Denmark’s PensionDanmark and AP Pension have committed €500m and €335m, respectively, to Copenhagen Infrastructure IV, and Norwegian municipal pension fund KLP has provided an undisclosed amount.

Other investors in the first close include pension and life companies and family offices. CIP said several other investors were in the process of committing. 

CIP, established in 2012 with the help of PensionDanmark, intends to raise €5bn to €7bn of equity to fund up to €14bn worth of investments across North America, Western Europe, and developed Asia-Pacific markets. A final close is expected within the next nine months.

PensionDanmark CEO Torben Möger Pedersen said: “Our collaboration has been very satisfactory. Historically, it has provided very attractive returns for our members of around 10% cent annually and has contributed substantially to the green transition.”

At the end of 2019, around half of PensionDanmark’s DKK22.6bn (€3bn) infrastructure investments were made through CIP.

Jakob Baruël Poulsen, CIP managing partner, said: “The market timing is favourable for greenfield renewable infrastructure investments, and the fund and CIP are well-positioned to capture the attractive market opportunity with significant visibility of the investment pipeline and a high degree of execution certainty delivered by a large team of experienced industrialists.”

Steen Lønberg Jørgensen, partner at CIP, said: “We are pleased and proud to manage and invest what is set to become the largest renewable energy infrastructure fund ever raised globally, and we are excited about delivering energy infrastructure projects of €10bn to €14bn in close cooperation with our industrial partners and local communities.”

Bo Normann Rasmussen, AP Pension CEO, said: ”With a €335m investment we are taking a big step towards fulfilling our ambition to contribute to the green transition, benefiting both the climate and our customer’s pension savings.

“Being able to do so locally here in Denmark with CIP, who has an impressive history and unique expertise in this field, is just an added bonus.”

Harald Koch-Hagen, SVP of risk management and allocation in KLP, said: “When fully deployed and when taken together with our other investments in other CIP funds it also represents a significant contribution to KLP’s ambition to facilitate sustainable investments in renewable energy infrastructure.”

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