Polestar Capital to raise up to EUR 500m for new e-mobility investment strategy

Anastasia Gnezditskaia
19 May 2023

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Dutch fund manager Polestar Capital plans to launch a new investment strategy with a target size of EUR 500m to provide a mix of debt and equity financing to the e-mobility infrastructure sector, said head of impact and investment strategies Reinier van der Vusse.

It plans to start fundraising in June and complete it by mid-2024, he said. It will focus on companies that provide electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the logistics area, for trucks and similar type of vehicles.

The sponsor will provide tickets of EUR 10m-EUR 50m, targeting charge point operators that are active in any part of Northwestern Europe, with assets based in the Netherlands. It will also support battery pack providers in the EV charging space that soften the impact of EV charging on the grid.

EV charging and e-mobility in the logistics sector is still in the early stages, and Polestar Capital will seek to fill the funding gap, Van der Vusse said.

Circular Debt Fund
Polestar's other vehicle, Polestar Capital Circular Debt Fund, was launched last February and has raised EUR 188m to date, with a hard cap of EUR 400m.

Its target LP base includes Dutch pension funds, as well as European banks and impact investors as LPs, and it is currently in talks with several investors that include financial institutions and impact funds, Van der Vusse said.

Its current LPs include Invest-NL, and insurers Onderlinge ‘s-Gravenhage and De Hoop, and potentially the Province of Limburg, as reported.

The vehicle targets circular economy players with a link to materials, he said, adding that it is close to signing agreements with two potential targets: Dutch truck tire recycling company Atlantis Rubber Powders; and Bio BTX, a Dutch provider of circular chemical compounds that upcycles waste streams, he said.

The fund plans to have a first close of EUR 250m by this summer and will back 25-35 target companies that are based in the Netherlands and seeking internationalisation. It will provide tickets of EUR 10m on average, or between EUR 5m and EUR 20m in debt financing to pre-revenue companies that are about to reach a commercial stage, he said.