Climate Insider Brief:
- Polestar Capital successfully closed its Circular Debt Fund at €240 million, with an additional €43 million from the European Investment Fund (EIF), Invest-NL, Realdania, and Oost NL.
- The fund aims to finance 30 circular projects in the Netherlands, focusing on reducing carbon emissions, minimizing waste, and replacing fossil fuels with sustainable alternatives.
- The fund has recently granted a €15 million loan to BioBTX and plans to allocate €55 million to five or six innovative circular manufacturing companies in the Netherlands in the latter half of the year, supporting the broader transition to a circular economy.
As reported by Impact Investor, Polestar Capital has successfully closed its Circular Debt Fund with a total of €240 million, following an additional €43 million investment. The new funds were sourced from the European Investment Fund (EIF), Invest-NL, Realdania, and Oost NL. The capital will finance 30 circular projects across the Netherlands, aiming to drive significant impact in carbon emissions reduction, waste minimization, and the replacement of fossil fuels.
Impact
The Polestar Capital Circular Debt Fund is poised to create substantial environmental and economic benefits. By financing 30 circular projects, the fund aims to significantly reduce carbon emissions and waste. It will also help replace fossil fuels with sustainable alternatives. This support is crucial for sustainable technology companies, which often struggle to secure funding due to their experimental business models. The fund’s investments are expected to disrupt existing polluting value chains and promote the use of circular and sustainable materials and products, fostering a broader transition to a circular economy.
Daan van Kassel, fund director of Polestar’s circular fund, emphasised the importance of this expansion. “This expansion allows us to financially support at least three to six additional circular companies at this crucial stage, enabling them to further scale up their circular technologies and business models, disrupting existing polluting value chains, and replacing them with more sustainable production chains.”
Recently, the fund granted a €15 million loan to BioBTX for the production of circular chemical building materials from waste plastics and biomass. Additionally, it plans to allocate €55 million in loans to five to six innovative circular manufacturing companies in the Netherlands in the latter half of the year.
Ulrike Kostense, senior investment manager at Invest-NL, highlighted the fund’s alignment with sustainable innovation. “By solving the financing gap for innovative circular manufacturing companies, Polestar Capital funds innovation and accelerates the transition to a circular economy, bringing both positive environmental impact and economic benefits,” Kostense stated.
Marjut Falkstedt, chief executive of the European Investment Fund, added, “We can achieve a lot by better managing resources and products and integrating circular thinking into our production processes.”
Polestar Capital launched its circular fund in 2022 with an initial investment of €100 million from the Pensioenfonds Detailhandel, the Dutch pension fund for the retail sector. The fund’s mission aligns with a broader commitment to fostering sustainable practices and reducing environmental impact through financial support and innovation.
SOURCE: Impact Investor
Featured Image: Credit: Polestar Capital
