August 24, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, and Montreal, Quebec, Spring Lane has done big things in a relatively short period of time.

Focusing on providing hybrid project capital within the sustainable food, water, energy, waste, and transportation industries, its first private fund concluded fundraising in November 2019 with capital commitments totaling $157 million. Within only two years of its launch, this inaugural fund had deployed the majority of its capital following its final close. 

In April of this year, Spring Lane announced a second close of $50 million on its second fund, which is investing in sustainable infrastructure in food and ag, water, energy, waste, and transportation. And not even six months later, the company announced a third close of $50 million for its second fund, bringing capital commitments for the fund to $250 million toward its goal of $400 million, and bringing current total AUM across all funds to $400 million. 

“We are very pleased that we have been able to secure additional commitments from our LPs, some that have been partners since we launched our first strategy,” said Rob Day, partner and co-founder, Spring Lane Capital.

“The increased and continued momentum of our strategy both from an LP commitment perspective and the growth and breadth of our portfolio make the case that our unique ‘hybrid project capital’ approach is a proven way to create market opportunities for institutional investors in the sustainable infrastructure space that can generate compelling returns and impact,” Day concluded. 

As Spring Lane’s portfolios touch a range of diverse sustainable sectors, the firm has made three wide-ranging deals in recent months:

April 2022 – Spring Lane made its first investment through its second fund in the renewable gas sector, adding Andion, a global leader in waste-to-energy solutions that recycles organic waste to create renewable energy. 

May 2022 – One month later, the firm committed $35 million through Fund I to Soluna Computing Inc., a developer of green data centers for intense computing needs. 

July 2022 – Spring Lane announced a debt facility commitment via Fund II of up to $50 million, and co-led a Series A equity investment in EVCS Charging Solutions – one of the largest electric vehicle rapid-charging network operators on the West Coast. 

Given that the firm takes a hands-on, value-added approach, optimal management requires a team with a broad stroke of experience in assessing and supporting diverse revenue-stage companies. These new equity investments and the continued fundraising the company is undertaking, have called for the expansion of Spring Hill’s team. Over the past several months four new hires have been made:

~ Mark Reuss, P.E., principal, portfolio operations joined Spring Lane from Ameresco, where he was director of project management, and applied his experience as a project development director with a history of working in the power and petrochemical industries. 

~ Sean Sandbach, principal, head of capital formation and ESG, joined Spring Lane after holding multiple roles at the Milken Institute for 13 years. With a BA in mathematics and economics from UC San Diego, Sandbach has worked in financial markets for the bulk of his career and will be leveraging that experience to meet the challenges of climate change. 

~ Francesca Macchiavello Cauvi, analyst, comes to Spring Lane after serving as an undergraduate researcher for MIT Economics. 

~ Noah Lerner, associate, held roles with the Nevada Clean Energy Fund and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and has an MBA from the Yale School of Management and a Master of Environmental Management, Energy, and Environment from the Yale School of the Environment. 

“Our firm’s growth and success are reflected in the significant hires we have been able to make over the last several months,” said Day.  “Mark, Sean, Francesca, and Noah are all experienced and passionate team members in their own right and being able to hire the best of the best proves that we are doing something unique and impactful at Spring Lane Capital.”

“Each brings an impressive track record and expertise that will undoubtedly help grow our firm,” continued Day. “We know growing strong sustainability businesses and getting to widespread adoption is hard, and our team welcomes the challenge; our team has the kind of ‘let’s tackle this together’ skill set that allows us to be value-added for such businesses and to help them succeed.”

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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