Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investment company, announced Tuesday that it will be taking a significant stake into Asper Investment Management’s (Asper) Dorothea investment vehicle (Dorothea).
Dorothea is targeting to deploy more than AED 2.1 billion (€ 500 mn) into building a network of district heating services across the Netherlands.
Asper is Europe’s leading independent investment management firm specialized in sustainable real assets with investment vehicles dedicated to energy transition and a track record in district heating since 2014. Other investors in Dorothea include APG and the European Investment Bank.
Dorothea’s newly installed heating capacity is expected to deliver over 2 million GJ of sustainable heat by using clean-energy sources including a combination of geothermal, residual heat and sustainable, locally-sourced biomass. This builds on the Netherlands’ efforts to increase Renewable Energy Sources penetration from 7 per cent today to 100 per cent by 2050.
Over the next 30 years, 7 million households in the country will switch to CO2 free heating solutions to meet these objectives, state news agency WAM reported.
Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi, CEO of Mubadala Aerospace, Renewables and ICT said: "This investment is highly attractive for us, as heating networks not only support the development of sustainable energy infrastructure, but are also stable assets which provide predictable cash flows and steady returns. Mubadala and Asper have a successful record of investing in public energy services and as Europe transitions to a zero-carbon future, we are excited about the role that Dorothea will play in this."
For his part, Luigi Pettinicchio, CEO of Asper said: "Heating network investments are one of Asper’s key areas of expertise. This type of infrastructure will be key to deliver Europe’s decarbonisation goals and Dorothea will play an important role in this. We are delighted to have received Mubadala’s support and look forward to a successful partnership."
Mubadala’s utilities portfolio, which includes Taweelah, the world’s largest Reverse Osmosis desalination plant, and Tabreed, a leading district cooling company based in Abu Dhabi, acts as a bridge to the global energy transition towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.
