Insider Brief
- Climate Fund Managers (CFM) has launched Climate Investor Three (CI3), a global energy transition and green hydrogen fund, securing EUR 150 million in initial commitments from European donors.
- CI3 follows a blended finance model to de-risk investments and mobilize private capital for green hydrogen and energy transition projects, with country-specific funds in Namibia and South Africa.
- Green hydrogen is positioned as a critical driver of decarbonization, with CI3 aiming to accelerate its adoption in emerging markets, leveraging their renewable resources and competitive production costs to enable sustainable economic growth.
PRESS RELEASE – Climate Fund Managers BV (“CFM”), a climate-centric blended finance investment manager, announced the formation of its new global energy transition and green hydrogen fund, Climate Investor Three (“CI3” or “the Fund”).
The Fund’s Development Tranche has secured initial capital commitments of EUR 150 million from European donors. CI3’s blended finance model balances risk, enabling public and private sector investors to access the rapidly growing energy transition and green hydrogen markets at a risk-return profile aligned with their mandates – unlocking larger volumes of capital to drive impact at scale.
CI3 is structured as a family of funds investing across the energy transition and green hydrogen value chain. CI3 is a feeder fund which may invest directly into projects but may also invest into country-specific underlying funds. These country-specific funds currently include:
- SDG Namibia One (“CI3 Namibia”): an energy transition and green hydrogen fund in partnership with the Environmental Investment Fund of Namibia (EIF) and Invest International to incubate Namibia’s energy transition and green hydrogen sector markets.
- SA-H2 Fund (“CI3 South Africa”): an energy transition and green hydrogen fund in partnership with Invest International and supported by Sanlam Limited of South Africa, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), to promote the development of South Africa’s energy transition and green hydrogen sector markets.
Green hydrogen, produced through water electrolysis using renewable energy, is a key enabler of the global energy transition. Its versatility and portability make it essential for decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors such as transport and industrial production, key contributors to global CO2 emissions. Emerging markets like South Africa and Namibia, with their abundant renewable resources and competitive production costs, are well-placed to lead the sector, transforming local industries and driving low-emission, climate-resilient economic growth.
CI3’s blended finance structure supports projects from development to construction. Its Development Tranche absorbs early-stage risks and helps transform concepts into investible projects. Private construction capital is mobilized through bespoke, risk-tiered Equity Tranches, enabling investment from a range of investors including donors, philanthropic capital, DFIs and institutional investors.
Hans Docter, co-CEO of Invest International said: “Green hydrogen holds immense potential to drive sustainable development in emerging markets and support the global energy transition. Unlocking this potential requires the public and private sectors to work together. For this reason we are proud to partner with CFM in launching Climate Investor Three as a blended finance vehicle to facilitate such collaboration, enabling public sector institutions like Invest International to deploy our catalytic capital effectively, getting projects off the ground and balancing risks to mobilise private sector investment at scale.”
Sebastiaan Surie, Head of Hydrogen at CFM said: “Green hydrogen is a cornerstone of the global energy transition, and emerging markets, with their vast natural capital, are poised to lead the charge. Through Climate Investor Three, we leverage our expertise in climate-resilient infrastructure to accelerate the energy transition, unlocking private sector investment for a large range of green hydrogen technologies and associated infrastructure, advancing global climate goals and promoting economic development and energy security where it is most needed.”
Benedict Libanda, CEO of EIF said: “Global partnership is vital to support the energy transition and particularly green hydrogen development in Namibia, especially considering the nascent state of the sector. Collaboration among countries, governments, industry stakeholders, local and international players is essential to overcome technological challenges and scale up production and export. By joining forces, we can pool resources, share knowledge, and accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon future powered by green hydrogen.”
