Alterra, a climate investment fund established by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2023, has announced a new investment in Europe. The fund is putting $50 million into Absolute Energy, an Italian renewable energy company. The money will help support 1.4 gigawatts of solar and battery storage projects in Italy.
This is Alterra’s third direct equity investment. It comes after earlier deals with Evren in India and Neoen in France, both valued at $100 million. The current deal is being made alongside U.S.-based infrastructure company I Squared Capital.
The new projects are expected to reduce emissions by about 380,000 tonnes per year. Absolute Energy has a broader plan to develop 6 gigawatts of clean energy capacity.
Alterra was launched with a total capital of $30 billion. It was introduced during the COP28 climate conference in the UAE. So far, it has invested $6.5 billion. Most of this has gone through partnerships with other global firms such as BlackRock, Brookfield, and TPG.
The fund says it wants to mobilise $250 billion worldwide by 2030. Its focus areas include industrial decarbonisation, renewable energy, and climate-related technology.
Majid Al Suwaidi, CEO of Alterra, said “the fund is entering a new phase”. He further mentioned that “finding suitable investments had been more difficult than expected.” He explained that the fund is now looking at deals starting from $50 million.
In the UAE, Alterra has been engaging in early-stage renewable energy evaluations. Instance, a recent cooperation agreement was signed between Alterra and a solar innovation start-up based in Sharjah. The partnership involves testing solar cooling panels designed for desert conditions. The pilot project will be limited to 5 megawatts and includes a small energy storage component using lithium batteries.
Another small-scale effort involves a rooftop solar system being planned for a public school cluster in Al Ain. The project will have an installed capacity of about 1.8 megawatts and will be operated by a local energy services company under a power purchase agreement model.
