The new fund, SEB Nordic Energy Fund, focuses on assets that have traditionally been too small to draw the attention of large infrastructure funds and energy companies. With the fund, SEB’s fund company SEB Investment Management sees an opportunity to direct capital towards projects that traditionally struggle to find financing, and thereby help reduce the energy deficit and accelerate the sustainability transformation.
“Due to the increased demand for energy, the prevailing lack of capacity and the need to phase out fossil fuels, we see a great need for investments in renewable energy in the Nordics. This applies both to new projects and to existing infrastructure, where efficiency and energy production can be increased through upgrades. With SEB Nordic Energy Fund, institutional investors get an opportunity to contribute capital to investments that are necessary both for the sustainability transition and to meet the increased demand for renewable energy. We are convinced that these investments will provide a long-term stable return for our investors and support the Nordic energy system already in the short term,” says Elin Löfblad, who together with Richard Gavel and Björn Arvidsson manages the fund.
SEB Nordic Energy Fund is aimed at sustainable investments in accordance with the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and is thus classified as an Article 9 fund. It is aimed at Nordic institutional investors such as pension funds, and will invest in assets such as geothermal energy systems, hydropower, solar energy, wind energy and combined heat and power.
Institutional investors have already invested 3 billion kronor in the fund and the ambition is to reach more than 10 billion kronor in capital in total. The fund has so far made two investments, including one in an existing wind energy portfolio in southern Sweden, where the country’s energy deficit is the largest. Here, SEB Nordic Energy Fund will invest up to 250 million kronor in the upgrade of existing wind power plants that are more than a decade old. In this way, the energy output of these power plants can be doubled without any additional impact on the surrounding environment.
“Upgrading existing wind power plants enables the production of renewable energy with the least possible impact on the surrounding environment. The benefit of doing this is huge since the CO2 emissions that result from building towers and foundations is eliminated. In addition, we use renovated turbines for the upgrade and also look at how the old turbines that we remove can be recycled, which further reduces the environmental impact. More than half of the wind power plants in southern Sweden are over 15 years old and with the right investments these sites have the capacity to produce much more electricity,” says Richard Gavel, one of the three fund managers.
Disclaimer
Past performance is not indicative of future results. The value of investments and income derived from investments may rise as well as fall. Future returns are not guaranteed, and a loss of principal may occur. The fund’s value may vary significantly due to the composition and the management methods used by the fund management company. More information, including the prospectus and sustainability-related disclosures, are available upon request from your Client Executive at SEB.