Polhem Infra, the specialist joint venture owned by thee of Sweden’s main national pension buffer funds, is targeting SEK9bn (€870m) of investments in sustainable infrastructure in the next four years.
CEO Mikael Lundin said there was a good chance more capital would then be available, confirming comments first made to Swedish newspaper DN.
“It is enough money for us to be serious players in the market, and if we make good investments during that period, there will be good opportunities for us to get new money,” he said. “The owners have expressed to me that they want to invest more in infrastructure.”
Polhelm Infra, established in 2019 by AP1, AP3 and AP4, will start with production, distribution and storage of renewable energy, Lundin said, as well as digital infrastructure, such as the expansion of fibre networks and server housing.
While the joint venture also has a mandate to invest in the transport sector, Lundin said this was dominated by state ownership, leaving little room for investors.
Asked by IPE Real Assets whether the COVID-19 pandemic was slowing investment by Polhem Infra, Lundin said it had “made contacts and sourcing in the public sector more challenging since the sector has been busy handling the pandemic consequences”.
He said: “But in a longer perspective, I don’t think this is slowing our investment activity.”
The Stockholm-based investment firm unveiled its first investment last November: the purchase of 21.5% of privately-held Swedish energy firm Solör Bioenergi Holding, which focuses on bio-fired district heating.
In April this year it announced it was among a group of international investors financing the greenfield 231MW Skaftåsen onshore wind project alongside Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners.
