EQT Foundation backs Trellis Climate to accelerate first-of-a-kind projects
EQT Foundation grants €500,000 to Trellis Climate, a catalytic capital program by Prime Coalition accelerating first-of-a-kind (FOAK) climate projects.
The partnership advances EQT Foundation’s Breakthrough Scale program, which backs innovative models that make high-impact climate technologies investable at scale.
EQT Foundation has awarded a €500,000 grant to Trellis Climate, an impact-first catalytic capital program developed by Prime Coalition. The support will enable Trellis to expand its work financing first-of-a-kind (FOAK) climate infrastructure projects, bridging the critical “valley of death” between early-stage innovation and commercial scale.
Climate companies, supporting technologies such as advanced solar manufacturing, green fertilizer, or carbon-negative cement, face a consistent funding gap when they build FOAK projects. FOAK projects are often too large for traditional venture investors, yet too risky for project finance. Trellis addresses this bottleneck by deploying philanthropic catalytic capital to derisk these projects and unlock mainstream investment.
EQT Foundation’s grant and EQT’s in-kind support will strengthen Trellis’s operational capacity and support the design of its next pilot investments.
Trellis builds on Prime Coalition’s decade of experience channeling catalytic capital into climate innovation. Its catalytic investments have already demonstrated powerful leverage effects: its investment into solar company Tandem PV helped unlock critical non-dilutive financing for the company’s first manufacturing facility, while its funding for Nitricity’s first-of-a-kind green fertilizer project accelerated its path to commercial production and helped the company secure its subsequent $50 million Series B round.
Beyond project financing, Trellis also strengthens the systems around climate deployment, developing insurance tools for early technologies, publishing open-source field guides such as the Resources for FOAK Project Preparation & Development (1), and building frameworks for community engagement and equitable project design.
Cilia Holmes Indahl, CEO EQT Foundation: “Trellis Climate shows how philanthropy can move markets. By derisking first-of-a-kind projects, they are paving the way for commercial capital to scale solutions that matter most for people and planet.”
Lara Pierpoint, Managing Director of Trellis Climate: “We’re thrilled to partner with EQT Foundation as we continue to build and scale Trellis Climate. The support of forward-leaning philanthropies like EQT with deep investment expertise is critical to our work advancing climate infrastructure and to the broader climate ecosystem.”
1 ttps://www.primecoalition.org/research/resources-for-foak-project-preparation-and-development
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EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization focused on active ownership strategies. With a Nordic heritage and a global mindset, EQT has a track record of more than three decades of developing companies across multiple geographies, sectors and strategies. EQT has investment strategies covering all phases of a business’ development, from start-up to maturity. EQT has €267 billion in total assets under management (€139 billion in fee-generating assets under management) as of 30 September 2025, within two business segments – Private Capital and Real Assets.
With its roots in the Wallenberg family’s entrepreneurial mindset and philosophy of long-term ownership, EQT is guided by a set of strong values and a distinct corporate culture. EQT manages and advises funds and vehicles that invest across the world with the mission to future-proof companies, generate attractive returns and make a positive impact with everything EQT does.
The EQT AB Group comprises EQT AB (publ) and its direct and indirect subsidiaries, which include general partners and fund managers of EQT funds as well as entities advising EQT funds. EQT has offices in more than 25 countries across Europe, Asia and the Americas and has more than 1,900 employees.
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About EQT Foundation
EQT Foundation is a philanthropic organization and long-term shareholder of the global investment organization EQT, founded by partners at EQT. The Foundation supports scientists and entrepreneurs bringing breakthrough solutions from lab to market, combining EQT’s expertise with catalytic investments and grants. With a focus on supporting scientific progress in underfunded areas of climate and health, the Foundation provides a learning platform for EQT employees to develop and work collaboratively across the globe, while engaging in philanthropy and making a positive impact.
