- Dutch Pension fund ABP has invested €6m in the Dutch company Methaplanet which makes energy pellets to produce biogas more efficiently.

The energy pellets, made from manure that contains a significant amount of straw, provide benefits to farmers, society, nature, and biodiversity. Biogas can be made by fermenting manure and can be converted into green gas – a gas with the same properties as natural gas. Farmers can sell green gas, which will make them sustainable energy producers, whilst embracing the energy transition.


- Norwegian pension company KLP, alongside a handful of banks and investment organisations, will contribute to a new fund that will invest in early-stage companies from central Norway.

The fund, called Såkorn 1 Midt, is worth NOK 200m and will help between 10-20 local start-up companies in Trøndelag and Møre og Romsdal. CoFounder, an investment and consultancy company, will select the companies and follow their progress.

Commenting on the deal, KLP executive vice president of finance, Aage Schaanning, said: “The research and industrial environments in the region are in a class of their own in a Norwegian context. Combined with solid specialised environments, Central Norway is a very interesting area for innovation.”

Adding to this CoFounder partner, Cristina Santos, said: “Through the fund’s investments, we will help to ensure that Central Norway is a leader in sustainable creation, technology development, and innovation.”


- The Swedish Pensions Agency has started depositing SEK 13.8bn into the premium pension accounts of savers and pensioners.

Fund rebates and inheritance gains are the main components of this, which are deposited simultaneously with the deduction of premium pension contributions. To participate in the premium pension fund market, fund companies give discounts on fund fees. The fund rebate amounted to SEK 6.5bn in 2023. The rebate is paid to savers and pensioners each year and is used to buy additional units according to the fund’s decisions. Furthermore, SEK 7.8bn is paid in inheritance gains, from people who died last year, and it is now being distributed between savers and pensioners.

Purchases of new fund units will start on 20 May, but fund switches ordered after 23:59 on 16 May will not be executed until after the end of fund trading. Swedish Pensions Agency, head of fund trading, Anna Gasslander, said: “Inheritance gains are money from deceased people who had not chosen survivor protection for their premium pension. Instead, the remaining premium pension is then distributed back to all savers and pensioners with premium pensions.”

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