PGGM has acquired a 49 per cent stake in the Dutch company Carbon Collectors, which develops new technologies for collecting, transporting, and storing CO2, on behalf of the Dutch fund for the care and welfare sector Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW).

The acquisition means that Carbon Collectors is fully financed to prepare their technology for the collection, transport, and storage service of CO2 for the market in the coming years.

In addition to this, PGGM has also acquired the exclusive right to invest up to €200m as equity in projects for the construction of the infrastructure that will be used for the collection, transport, and injection of CO2 in suitable permanent storage locations, such as empty-produced offshore gas fields.

The funding will enable Carbon Collectors to enter the market with a solution in the short term that can help accelerate the energy transition and could contribute to achieving the climate goals in Europe through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

In particular, Carbon Collectors’ goal is to bring the first captured CO2 from its customers directly to a permanent storage facility before 2030, with the expectation that this will quickly grow to around 6 million tons per year.

Carbon Collectors was advised by Santander CIB and STEK Advocaten B.V on this transaction, while PGGM was advised by De Roos Advocaten en Notariaat.

The company is focused on industries that are difficult to make sustainable, such as the steel and cement industries. It said it was important that every project it participates in "yields substantial net climate benefits".

PGGM is investing as part of PFZW's special energy transition plan launched in 2024. Over the next few years, €1bn will go toward young companies with “promising” solutions for clean energy that also offer good financial returns.

PFZW said it intends for these investments to help grow pensions for workers in the healthcare and welfare sector. This acquisition is the fourth investment under this mandate.

Commenting on the acquisition, Carbon Collectors CEO, Ludo van Hijfte, said that this investment enables Carbon Collectors to complete the design of vessels and other infrastructure and “accelerate” the ongoing feasibility studies with industrial customers and CO2 storage partners.

He said that due to the financial support of PFZW and the expertise of Carbon Collectors, the first projects could be operational within three years of an investment decision.

“Carbon Collectors' flexible approach to CO2 transport and storage offers new opportunities for both large and smaller companies – also outside the industrial clusters – to reduce their CO2 emissions in a responsible way,” he continued.

“In this way, we can achieve an accelerated reduction of CO2 emissions while maintaining essential industries for the Netherlands and Europe."

Adding to this, PGGM Infrastructure investment director, Simon Nicolaas, stated the investment fit “very well” with PFZW's ambition to respond to the opportunities offered by the energy transition.

Nicolaas said the fund is looking for companies that are “well positioned” in this area and that achieve the long-term returns that it needs to be able to pay successive generations of employees in the care and welfare sector a good pension.

“Carbon Collectors also contributes to the PFZW goal of achieving a net zero investment portfolio by 2050, in line with the commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement,” he said.

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