Netherlands-based asset manager PGGM has acquired a 49% stake in Dutch company Carbon Collectors on behalf of its largest client PFZW. As part of the deal, PGGM acquired the exclusive right to invest up to €200 million (US$208.5 million) of equity in projects to build the infrastructure needed to collect, transport and inject CO2 into suitable permanent geological storage sites, such as depleted offshore gas fields. Carbon Collectors aims to eventually store up to six million tonnes of CO2 a year for clients in hard-to-abate industries, such as steel and cement. “With PFZW’s financial support and Carbon Collectors’ expertise, the first projects can be operational within three years of an investment decision,” said Ludo van Hijfte, CEO of Carbon Collectors. “Our flexible CO2 transport and storage approach will aid both large and smaller companies, including those outside industrial clusters, in responsibly reducing their CO2 emissions.” This transaction forms part of PGGM’s energy transition mandate set up by PFZW last year, which has made €1 billion available over the next few years for investment in young companies developing viable solutions contributing to the energy transition. “We are looking for companies that are well positioned in this respect and achieve the long-term returns we need to pay successive generations of workers in the health and social care sector a good pension,” said Simon Nicolaas, Investment Director at PGGM Infrastructure. “Carbon Collectors also contributes to PFZW’s goal of achieving a net zero investment portfolio by 2050, in line with PFZW’s commitment to the Paris Agreement.”
