Mirova eyes €250m first close by summer for new renewables fund – exclusive

The EIB is currently considering an injection of up to €100m into the vehicle, which has a €700m hard-cap.

French fund manager Mirova is eyeing a €250 million first close in the coming months for its fourth renewable energy vehicle, Infrastructure Investor has learnt.

The firm is targeting the first close for the Eurofideme 4 fund before the summer, with the vehicle believed to be targeting €500 million, with a €700 million hard-cap.

An investment into the fund is under appraisal by the European Investment Bank, the bank revealed two weeks ago. The EIB has declined to disclose its considered investment amount, although this will be up to 20 percent of the €500 million target. The EIB invested €40 million in Mirova’s previous renewables fund, which surpassed its original €200 million target to close on €350 million in 2016.

Mirova declined to comment on the fundraising.

Eurofideme 4 is set to continue the strategy of its predecessors, primarily investing in wind and solar projects in Europe. However, the new fund is set to consider investments in energy storage and in electric vehicle-charging infrastructure.

Projects in its native France are targeted to account for about half of the deployment, with further expansion in Spain also anticipated following Mirova’s first renewables deal in the Southern European country in January. The fund will continue the strategy of aiming for returns of at least 8 percent.

Eurofideme 3 is now almost fully invested after Mirova last week secured a deal to buy a 25MW solar project in Portugal. The site is being built without subsidies and is backed by a power purchase agreement with Swiss utility Axpo.