Vidia Equity – a thematic investor in industrial decarbonization climate solutions – recently announced the final close of its Vidia Climate Fund I. At €415 million, the fund was oversubscribed.
Vidia was launched to identify and scale industrial climate solutions with an operational approach, addressing the urgent need for decarbonization within DACH and beyond. Launched by Johanna Struthmann and Dr. Stephan Rosarius, the firm’s partners have an extensive track record and shared industrial investing experience in the DACH region and the Nordics over more than ten years.
Vidia’s Fund I will target superior financial returns and positive climate impact by investing in mid-market solutions within three key climate themes: Industrial materials, Electrification, and Circular economy. Vidia will focus on emission reductions in five of the most emission-intensive sectors: Energy, Industrials, Transportation, Buildings, and Food & Agriculture.
This fund was classified as Article 9 under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). And Vidia developed a bespoke climate impact framework and scorecard for its screening and investment process. The Vidia Impact Methodology rests on a multidimensional approach to assessing a climate solution’s standalone impact and long-term relevance alongside investor additionality.
The fund also received strong interest from investors globally, attracting sizeable commitments from highly regarded European and North American institutional LPs, including public pension funds, insurers, global PE consultants, endowments, and foundations.
Fund I already completed two investments: BPM – a leading German mechanical recycling specialist producing regranulates and regrinds from post-industrial plastic waste, and Wierig Group – a leading service player in the market niche of large industrial flat roofs complementing energy-efficient refurbishment with the installation of photovoltaic- and other alternative energy systems.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are incredibly grateful for the trust bestowed upon us by this collection of thought-leading LPs. There is an enormous climate investment opportunity in the DACH and Nordic regions, and the demand we saw for Fund I underscores how investors are recognizing the importance and scale of this. In holding the final closing of the Fund we have taken a significant step towards being able to deliver on our ambitious decarbonization targets alongside financial outperformance for our investors.”
– Johanna Struthmann, Founder and Managing Partner of Vidia
“It is an extremely exciting time to be investing into climate solutions. Whilst there is clearly a genuine need to drive decarbonization of global supply chains, there is also an accelerating supply of very high-quality businesses offering solutions to this problem. We are looking forward to working with these climate solution providers and supporting them in reaching their full potential.”
– Dr. Stephan Rosarius, Founder and Managing Partner of Vidia
