UK-based oil and gas company BP revealed on Tuesday it intends to provide $70m for India and UK-focused cleantech investment vehicle Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF).
GGEF was formed to invest in India-based technology developers operating in fields such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, electric mobility and resource conservation. It has a target size of $700m and BP’s investment is set to close later this year.
The government of India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and the UK Department for International Development are anchoring the vehicle, having each made a £120m ($170m) commitment at its April 2018 launch.
The fund is managed by Eversource Capital, an India-based joint venture created by BP’s solar power subsidiary, Lightsource BP, and private equity and real estate investment firm Everstone Capital.
BP’s decision to invest in GGEF follows a commitment by the corporate earlier this year to become a net-zero carbon emissions business by 2050, partially by investing more in companies outside its traditional oil and gas focus.
GGEF’s first investment was in a $330m round for solar and wind power project developer Ayana Renewable Power in February 2019 that also featured NIIF and the UK government’s development finance institution, CDC.
The fund has since provided capital for shared electric bus service GreenCell Mobility, recycling services provider EverEnviro and Radiance Renewables, a developer of low-cost renewable energy technology for industrial applications.
Sashi Mukundan, president of BP India and senior vice-president of BP, said: “Our investment in GGEF will aim to rapidly scale-up commercially viable low carbon solutions.
“The portfolio and scale of investments made by GGEF – be it in solar power, mobility solutions or sustainable infrastructure management – is extraordinary. Each one of these will help India achieve its climate goals.”
