KKR fund a boon for mature climate solutions

The pool of funding for mature climate-tech companies is growing deeper.

Driving the news: Investment giant KKR is looking to raise a $7 billion global climate fund to invest in energy transition companies and technologies like energy storage, according to a report in Reuters.

Catch up quick: In August, KKR hired Charlie Gailliot, formerly of Goldman Sachs, as its co-head for the global climate strategy, joining Emmanuel Lagarrigue and Neil Arora.

• In September, KKR announced a $750 million investment in British EV fleet and energy storage developer Zenobē.
• Through the infrastructure strategy, KKR has committed over $15 billion to energy transition and climate-related investing. Across the entire firm KKR has committed over $30 billion to climate and environmental sustainability investments.

Big picture: Private equity and infrastructure investors have a major role to play in funding the deployment of mature climate tech, from solar to energy storage to waste energy projects.

• In 2023 there was a dearth of growth funding for climate companies due to the macroeconomic environment, causing much consternation from the startup community.
• However, in the second half of the year, it appeared that climate growth funding rounds were starting to emerge again.