June 7, 2024

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

Specialist investment firm Pollination has launched the A$150 million (US$99 million) Climate and Nature Impact Venture Fund to deploy capital into Australian climate and nature solutions.

With a cornerstone investment already committed from Queensland Investment Corporation, the fund seeks to make Series A and Series B investments between A$4 million – A$12 million (US$2.6 million – US$7.9 million) in standout companies in the areas of net zero disruption, food and agriculture, carbon and nature management, energy management, clean industries and transport, and the circular economy. 

“This is a significant development that comes at the right time,” said Martijn Wilder, CEO, Pollination. “We have created the first early-stage fund in Australia to seamlessly combine climate and nature solutions, making sure that the opportunity for investors matches emerging market demand as the world mobilizes to address the twin climate and nature crises.”

“Pollination has built world-leading expertise on climate and nature, with a global team of investment and advisory experts, a blue-chip advisory client base, and a growing investment portfolio across projects, direct investments, and managed funds. All of that experience contributes to what will be a compelling opportunity for investors.”

Indeed, launched in 2019, Pollination has a presence in 13 countries across The Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific helping governments, businesses, and public and private capital navigate the climate transition by developing and investing in profitable breakthrough ideas.

Pollination also created Climate Asset Management in partnership with HSBC, the first largest-scale venture to mainstream natural capital as an asset class which now has approximately US$1 billion in funds under management, targeting investments in natural capital and nature-based carbon opportunities. 

This newly launched Climate and Nature Impact Venture Fund will be managed by Pollination’s global investment team with decades of experience in venture and climate tech, growth and private equity, renewables, carbon markets, and infrastructure. The team is led by Diana Callebaut, former head of TCorp’s $15 billion global private markets and former head of CBUS global infrastructure.

Other key members of the fund’s management team include managing directors Johathan Kelly, former partner at Odyssey Private Equity and director at CHAMP Ventures, and Brer Adams, an expert climate tech investor and founder of a renewable energy development company and advisor at Macquarie. 

“Australia has an active and growing base of emerging climate tech companies and has natural advantages in areas such as energy markets, carbon measurement, and land regeneration,” said Callebaut. 

“We will be working hard with our investees to accelerate the development of high-value solutions and connect them early to customers in global markets that are actively seeking to adopt proven solutions.”

With a geographic focus on Australia and select OECD opportunities, the fund, which is exclusively open to wholesale and institutional investors, is expected to begin making investments in late 2024.

“Pollination’s global footprint and deep climate expertise provides a specialist value-add to Queensland startups in the clean energy and technology sector,” said Lottie Tant, private equity investment director, QIC.

“By providing scale-up capital to proven and innovative climate technologies in Queensland, a priority sector for our state, this landmark fund will help to close an identified early-stage funding gap in the important Series A and B space.”

“Together, we can support local innovators addressing the global challenges of climate change and nature preservation, leveraging Pollination’s global platform.”

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

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