Novatron Fusion Group, a Swedish company that aims to revolutionize the field of fusion energy production, announced today the successful closure of its seed round, raising EUR 5 million. The round was led by Climentum Capital, in syndication with Industrifonden, Santander InnoEnergy Climate Fund, and with renewed investments by KTH Holding and EIT InnoEnergy.

The world’s energy demand is growing rapidly, and we need to meet it without reliance on fossil fuels. Fusion power has the potential to provide a limitless supply of emissions-free, reliable, safe, and affordable energy for all. Fusion power would provide a much-needed solution to some of humanity’s greatest challenges: the growing need for energy and accelerating climate change.

Today, stabilizing superheated plasma is a significant roadblock to commercializing fusion reactors. The NOVATRON concept is an innovative reactor solution for stable magnetic plasma confinement that aims to overcome this hurdle. The NOVATRON concept is based on the original idea by the Swedish inventor and entrepreneur, Jan Jäderberg. It’s being developed by world-leading physicists, engineers, and academics at the new Novatron Lab, housed within the former Alfvén Laboratory at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.

Peter Roos, CEO of Novatron Fusion Group, commented: “We are thrilled to receive such strong support from our investors. This will enable us to further deliver on our mission of transforming the energy landscape and accelerating the transition to a more sustainable future. We are now one step closer to enabling fusion energy at scale.”

Novatron Fusion Group aims to develop economically viable fusion energy in the 2030s. The new capital will be used to build pre-commercial prototypes. The company’s unique solution aims to increase reliability and reduce the current capital and operational cost profiles of its fusion reactors, relative to alternative solutions.

Mala Valroy, Investment Manager at Industrifonden, commented: “At Industrifonden, we believe in making science-backed, scalable investments that can shift the needle for society, and Novatron Fusion Groups technology has the potential to do just that. We are impressed by their innovative approach and confident in their ability to revolutionize energy production together with renewables. We are excited to support Novatron Fusion Group on their journey and look forward to witnessing the transformative effects of their technology.”

Read more at novatronfusion.com ↗

LONDON, UK; SAN FRANCISCO, USA – August 17, 2023 – A-Gas, the global leader in the supply and lifecycle management of refrigerant gases, today announced that its owners, including majority owner KKR, have entered into a definitive agreement to sell a majority stake in the company to TPG Rise Climate, the dedicated climate investing strategy of TPG’s global impact investing platform, TPG Rise. KKR will remain a significant minority shareholder in the business, continuing to work in collaboration with TPG Rise Climate and the A-Gas Leadership Team. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We are thrilled to be taking the next step of our sustainability journey, and to be further scaling our Lifecycle Refrigerant Management operations, with the backing of TPG Rise Climate,” said Jack Govers, Chief Executive Officer of the A-Gas Group. “We have a long history of being at the forefront of refrigerant gas recovery and reclamation, effectively lowering potential emissions to the atmosphere, and this investment from TPG is validation of our growth strategy and the quality of our products and services. We look forward to building on our success by executing a number of organic and inorganic growth initiatives.”

“We are also grateful for the value that KKR has delivered to our business. KKR’s support, funding, and global platform have enabled us to significantly accelerate our growth into new markets and geographies, while also developing new sustainability-driven capabilities, and building our market leadership. I am delighted that our people and our customers will continue to benefit from their support,” Govers added.

For over 30 years, through its first-class recovery and reclamation processes, A-Gas has been at the forefront of capturing refrigerant gas for future re-use or safe destruction, creating a closed-loop system that prevents its harmful release to the atmosphere. The company’s proprietary gas separation and recovery technology effectively abated approximately 8 million metric tonnes of CO2e in 2022, the equivalent to removing over 1.6 million cars from the roads for a year.

Over the past three decades, A-Gas has extended its market leadership into new growth verticals such as on-site Rapid Recovery of refrigerant gas, the safe destruction of legacy gases, and the generation of carbon credits. The company has also continued to significantly expand its global presence during KKR’s investment period, entering new markets across Europe, such as Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy, while substantially scaling the company’s operations in the US, entering Canada with the construction of a new refrigerant recovery and reclamation facility in Ontario, as well as expanding in Asia through the acquisition of a Japanese refrigerant reclamation and destruction company. Since KKR’s acquisition, which was made through KKR European Fund IV in 2017, A-Gas has grown revenue by 14% and EBITDA by 18% on average annually.

“Our investment in A-Gas is a thematic play on the increasing importance of establishing circular economies in critical industries. A-Gas’ highly differentiated gas recovery and reclamation technology closes the loop in the refrigerant gas lifecycle and thereby prevents the common venting of used refrigerant gases into the atmosphere at their end-of-life, which can have a Global Warming Potential that is several thousand times higher than that of emitting CO2,” said Joerg Metzner, Business Unit Partner at TPG Rise Climate. “A-Gas will play a leading role towards a more sustainable and circular refrigerant gas value chain globally as demand for refrigerants continues to grow and regulatory scrutiny and enforcement increase.”

Mattia Caprioli, Co-Head of European Private Equity at KKR, commented: “A-Gas plays a critical role in the circular economy for refrigerant gases, and in supporting environmental targets to fight climate change and global warming. We have been proud to work with Jack Govers and the A-Gas team over the past years, building market-leading capabilities for the recovery and reclamation of used gases, and positioning the business to benefit from future growth in gas reclamation and destruction opportunities globally. We believe the addition of TPG Rise Climate’s market expertise, particularly in the US carbon credit market, is a great fit for the future, and we look forward to working alongside Joerg, Jack and their respective teams to continue to build on A-Gas’s unique proposition globally.”

Citi acted as financial advisor to TPG in relation to the transaction. Goldman Sachs International acted as financial advisor to A-Gas and KKR, while Simpson Thacher & Bartlett acted as KKR’s legal advisor.

The transaction marks a full exit for minority investor, LDC, following a successful 12-year strategic partnership.

— ends —

About A-Gas Group

A‑Gas is the world leader in the supply and lifecycle management of refrigerants and associated products and services. Through our first-class recovery, reclamation, and repurposing processes, we capture refrigerants and fire protection gases for future re-use or destruction, preventing their harmful release into the atmosphere.

For over 30 years, A-Gas has supported our clients and partners on their environmental journey by supplying lower global warming gases and actively increasing the circularity of the industries we serve, building a sustainable future.

For more information, please visit www.agas.com.

About TPG Rise Climate

TPG Rise Climate is the dedicated climate investing strategy of TPG’s $18 billion global impact investing platform TPG Rise. TPG Rise Climate pursues climate-related investments that benefit from the diverse skills of TPG’s investing professionals, the strategic relationships developed across TPG’s existing portfolio of climate-focused companies, and a global network of executives and advisors. The fund takes a broad-based sector approach to investment types, from growth equity to value-added infrastructure, and focuses on climate solutions in the following thematic areas: clean electrons, clean molecules and materials, and negative emissions. Jim Coulter, TPG Founding Partner and Executive Chairman, serves as Managing Partner of TPG Rise Climate. Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson serves as TPG Rise Climate’s Executive Chairman.

For more information, please visit www.therisefund.com/tpgriseclimate

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR’s insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

Media Contacts:

A-Gas Group
Ken Logan
+44 7495 485356
ken.logan@agas.com

TPG
US
Ari Cohen
+1 415-743-1550
media@tpg.com

Europe
Michael Russell or Daniel Oliver
tpg@greenbrookadvisory.com

KKR
Annabel Arthur
+44 7554 919 491
annabel.arthur@kkr.com

Largest private credit energy transition fund ever raised¹

NEW YORK – August 10, 2023 – Blackstone (NYSE: BX) today announced the final close of its energy transition credit fund, Blackstone Green Private Credit Fund III (BGREEN III). BGREEN III closed at its hard cap of $7.1 billion, representing the largest energy transition private credit fund ever raised.

Dwight Scott, Global Head of Blackstone Credit, said: “Blackstone has built a premier platform focused on private credit in the energy transition and infrastructure markets. We are grateful for the trust from our limited partners and look forward to investing in this favorable market environment.”

Robert Horn, Global Head of the Sustainable Resources Group for Blackstone Credit, said: “The energy transition is impacting large sectors of the economy and is resulting in a growing need for efficient private capital. We believe our experience and scale will enable Blackstone Credit to deliver flexible solutions to companies driving this historic transition and generate compelling returns for our investors.”

BGREEN III is managed by Blackstone Credit’s Sustainable Resources Platform, which focuses on providing private credit to the renewable energy, infrastructure, and energy transition marketplace. The Platform has approximately 40 investment professionals across North America, Europe, and Asia and invests across the credit spectrum in investment grade credit, non-investment grade credit, preferred and convertible securities. In 2022, Blackstone announced that it sees an opportunity to invest an estimated $100 billion in energy transition and climate change solutions projects over the next decade across its businesses.

Blackstone Credit
Blackstone Credit is one of the world’s largest credit-focused asset managers. Blackstone’s Credit and Insurance segment has $295 billion in AUM. Blackstone Credit seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our clients by investing across the entire corporate credit market, from public debt to private loans. Our capital supports a wide range of companies across sectors and geographies, enabling businesses to expand, invest, and navigate changing market environments.

¹ Source: Preqin, Pitchbook, company websites, and publicly available information as of August 5, 2023. BGREEN III commitments included in this figure are as of August 8, 2023 to reflect final closing amount. Analysis based on universe of private credit funds closed since 2006 with fund sizes of $7B or greater.

Contacts
Kate Holderness
Kate.Holderness@Blackstone.com
646-482-8774

Mariel Seidman-Gati
Mariel.seidmangati@Blackstone.com
917-698-1674

• The new team led by José María Zabala (Managing Director) offers specialized advisory services to corporates willing to transform their energy models and to energy companies and investors aiming to lead the energy transition
• The creation of this business offers strong synergies with Alantra’s investment banking and alternative asset management divisions, in which c. 70 of the Firm’s professionals are dedicated to the energy transition
• This is a new step in creating a best-in-class cross-sector offering for energy related topics. Earlier this year, the Firm announced the hire of François de Rugy, former French energy transition minister, and Nemesio Fernandez-Cuesta, former Spanish Secretary of State for Energy and former Chairman of Eolia Renovables, as co-chairmen of Alantra’s Energy Transition Group

Madrid – Alantra, the independent global mid-market financial services firm, has created a highly-specialized Energy Transition Advisory business, which will complement Alantra’s Energy Transition Group, offering advice to corporates, energy companies and investors aiming to lead the energy transition. The business is led by José María Zabala who joined Alantra as Managing Director and has more than 15 years of international experience in strategy consulting, energy, sustainability, and climate resilience. Prior to Alantra, he co-founded energy consulting firm MRC Consultants and Transaction Advisers. Alantra aims to further strengthen the team with additional hires this year.

As energy has developed from a commodity to a strategically important asset, companies in a wide range of sectors, such as industrials, transportation, agriculture and food or tech, need an energy strategy adapted to the new reality.

Alantra created the Energy Transition Group, co-led by François de Rugy and Nemesio Fernandez-Cuesta, as a response to two macroeconomic needs:

• to help investors, companies, and entrepreneurs looking to transform their energy models and drive sustainable innovation in clean energy technology or renewable energy infrastructure
• to help energy companies and investors diversify their activities and portfolios, which will be key enablers for the decarbonization process

The hires for the new Energy Transition Advisory business reinforce Alantra’s position as a best-in-class player in the energy transition space, in which c. 70 of its professionals work on sustainable and green M&A deals and on raising and investing capital in clean energy infrastructure and innovation.

The Energy Transition Advisory team is already working with more than ten different clients on market advisory as well M&A and debt advisory projects, and enabling the development of solar, hybrid plants, Battery Energy Storage Systems, and renewables gases, among others. Additionally, Alantra is building an offering to help corporates invest in their decarbonization processes.

Alantra’s track record in the energy transition space includes c. 70 sustainable and green deals advised in investment banking in the past five years, including advising Audax Renovables on the origination, structuring and closing of a Market Access partnership with Shell Energy Europe; KKR on the sale of a minority stake in CMC Machinery to Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund; Solaria on a recap refinancing of two solar PV projects; and BiFire on its IPO on Euronext Growth Milan.

In Asset Management, Alantra is currently aiming to mobilize c. €2bn for solar infrastructure and clean energy innovation, building on its experience in launching Eolia Renovables in 2007. The Alantra Solar team will develop 55 solar parks in Spain and Italy, and Klima, Alantra’s Energy Transition Fund, which closed at its €210m hard cap, has already completed five investments, including onsite power generation provider MainSpring Energy based in the US or Europe’s largest OTC energy trading platform Enmacc based in Germany.

LEAG to develop up to 14 GW of renewable generation paired with 2-3 GWh of energy storage and 2 GW of green hydrogen production

Today, ESS Tech Inc. (NYSE:GWH) (“ESS”), a leading global manufacturer of long-duration energy storage systems, and LEAG, a major German energy provider, signed an initial agreement to accelerate the clean energy transition through the deployment of renewable generation and long-duration energy storage (LDES) using ESS iron flow battery technology.

Following the execution of definitive agreements and normal financial close, anticipated in Q3 2023, LEAG and ESS plan to build a 50 MW / 500 MWh iron flow battery system at the Boxberg Power Plant site, to be commissioned in 2027. The resulting 50 MW/500 MWh module is expected to become a standardized building block in LEAG’s plan to deploy 2-3 GWh of storage in the transformation of the LEAG power plant locations. LEAG and partners plan to invest €200 million with further support anticipated from additional investors and stakeholders.

ESS has developed an iron-based LDES technology which uses safe and sustainable battery chemistry to deliver low-cost, utility-scale energy storage. ESS technology is currently manufactured at the company’s facilities near Portland, Oregon, USA. ESS systems have already been deployed in commercial microgrid systems, with utility-scale projects underway in the USA and Australia.

“We look forward to partnering with LEAG to develop the model for utilities and communities worldwide transitioning from coal to clean, renewable energy,” said Eric Dresselhuys, CEO of ESS. “The deployment of renewables and long-duration energy storage will not only deliver reliable, clean energy to effectively replace the baseload power currently provided by coal, it will deliver economic opportunity and a cleaner environment for Germany.”

LEAG is a leading operator of large-scale lignite mining and coal-fired generation in Eastern Germany that is implementing a vision to transform the coal-dependent region into Germany’s Green Powerhouse. The company plans to develop 7-14 GW of renewable generation paired with 2-3 GWh of energy storage and 2 GW of green hydrogen production. Combined, these technologies will create a net-zero-carbon baseload energy system. When fully operational, LEAG expects to demonstrate a renewable energy system at scale which not only replaces baseload coal generation, but uses short-duration storage, LDES and hydrogen to replace natural gas for grid balancing.

“A key requirement for our transformation into Germany’s Green Powerhouse is the deployment of cost-effective Long-Duration Energy Storage. We are energized to demonstrate the value of iron flow battery technology at scale,” said Thorsten Kramer, CEO of LEAG. “The Energy Resilience Leadership Group and Breakthrough Energy have provided an ideal framework to drive rapid technology development and deployment to meet emissions goals as soon as possible.”

LEAG and ESS have joined the Energy Resilience Leadership Group (ERLG), a multi-stakeholder initiative led by Breakthrough Energy and Siemens Energy that brings together corporate CEOs, political leaders, financial institutions, and startups at the technology frontier. The Group was launched at the 2023 Munich Security Conference with the goal to enhance Europe’s energy resilience by rapidly bringing emerging climate technologies to scale. ERLG forges partnerships between startups and corporates to work towards deploying commercially viable projects within 24 months. The project of LEAG and ESS is one of the projects that the ERLG network is helping to accelerate.

“We are pleased to support a long-term strategic relationship between energy and technology experts LEAG and ESS through the Energy Resilience Leadership Group,” said Philipp Offenberg, Senior Manager, Europe at Breakthrough Energy. “Delivering green baseload power thanks to scalable, long-duration energy storage will not only solve a major challenge to decarbonization. It will also enhance Europe’s energy resilience, because less natural gas will be needed for backup power generation in the future.”

Summary:

U.S. energy storage technology manufacturer ESS Tech, Inc. and German energy provider LEAG cooperate to scale up iron-flow technology to provide long-duration energy storage as part of LEAG’s strategy to become Germany’s Green Powerhouse.

Breakthrough Energy supports the cooperation / project within the programme of Energy Resilience Leadership Group (ERLG).

First phase: demonstration of 50 MW / 500 MWh iron flow battery system at the Boxberg Power Plant to be operational by 2027.

Project expected to catalyze the sustainable transformation of a major German coal mining and energy generation region.

About the Energy Resource Leadership Group:

The Energy Resilience Leadership Group is a multi-stakeholder initiative led by Breakthrough Energy and Siemens Energy that brings together corporate CEOs, political leaders, financial institutions, and startups at the technology frontier. The Group was launched at the 2023 Munich Security Conference with the goal to enhance Europe’s energy resilience by rapidly bringing emerging climate technologies to scale. ERLG forges partnerships between startups and corporates to work towards deploying commercially viable projects.

About ESS Tech Inc.:

At ESS (NYSE: GWH), our mission is to accelerate global decarbonization by providing safe, sustainable, long-duration energy storage that powers people, communities and businesses with clean, renewable energy anytime and anywhere it’s needed. As more renewable energy is added to the grid, long- duration energy storage is essential to providing the reliability and resiliency we need when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing.Our technology uses earth-abundant iron, salt and water to deliver environmentally safe solutions capable of providing up to 12 hours of flexible energy capacity for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications. Established in 2011, ESS Inc. enables project developers, independent power producers, utilities and other large energy users to deploy reliable, sustainable long-duration energy storage solutions. For more information visit www.essinc.com.

[Forward-Looking Statements]

This communication contains certain forward-looking statements regarding ESS and its management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, or intentions regarding the future. The words “estimate”, “expect”, “will” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding the Company’s ability to execute on orders and the Company’s relationships with customers. These forward-looking statements are based on ESS’ current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially. Except as required by law, ESS is not undertaking any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contacts

For further information please contact:

LEAG Kathi Gerstner I kathi.gerstner@leag.de I +49 1723497384

ESS Morgan Pitts I morgan.pitts@essinc.com I +1 503-568-0755

Breakthrough Energy Alison Menon I alison@breakthroughenergy.org I + 1 (202) 468 0839