Luxembourg-headquartered venture capital fund European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF) reached a €175m ($213m) second close on Tuesday with €93m from limited partners including corporates Volkswohl Bund Versicherungen, Nestlé and Neste.
Insurance provider Volkswohl Bund Versicherungen, packaged food and beverage producer Nestlé and oil processor Neste were joined in the second close by promotional bank NRW Bank and an unnamed family office.
ECBF was launched by the European Commission and European Investment Bank in November 2019. The European Investment Bank has provided a total of €100m for the vehicle as a cornerstone investor.
The fund is focused on late-stage investments in bioeconomy technology developers located in Europe. It is two thirds of the way towards a targeted close of €250m.
ECBF held an €82m first close in October this year featuring commitments from recycling services provider PreZero International, chemicals producer Corbion and single-family office Hettich Beteiligungen.
The fund added an undisclosed amount in October this year to a $15.3m round for plant-based protein producer Prolupin. The first close was co-led by Novax, an investment subsidiary of conglomerate Axel Johnson, and Capricorn Partners, with additional investments from Munich Venture Partners and eCapital.
The fund also appointed Stéphane Roussel, a former managing director at a corporate venturing subsidiary of chemicals producer Solvay, as a venture partner for ECBF earlier this month.