The Sydney-based team will initially comprise three professionals: an investment director, an investment manager and an investment analyst.

Australia has become a destination for Mirova’s energy transition investments, supported by its renewable energy resources, growing infrastructure pipeline, supportive policy environment and increasing demand for private capital to fund the transition to a lower-carbon economy.

The move strengthens Natixis IM’s investment capabilities in Australia and reflects the growing importance of the market to Mirova’s Energy Transition Infrastructure (MET) strategies. Australia provides geographic diversification while offering a risk-return aligned with European markets, the firm said in a statement.

Over recent years, Mirova has established a growing presence in the region from its Asia-Pacific hub in Singapore. With more than €450 million ($522 million) already invested across Australia and New Zealand, through investments including clean energy enterprise TagEnergy, EV charging specialist JET Charge and renewables firm Yanara Australia, the establishment of the Sydney-based team reflects Mirova's commitment to the region and its confidence in the opportunities emerging from the energy transition.

The new Sydney team will initially consist of three professionals, including an investment director, an investment manager and an investment analyst. The team will focus on originating, evaluating and supporting investments for Mirova's Energy Transition Infrastructure platform, while helping deepen relationships with local investors, developers and industry stakeholders.

As part of this expansion, Kim Nguyen joins as investment director leading the Sydney-based team. She brings more than two decades of experience across infrastructure, energy and private markets, most recently serving as executive director, investments at the NSW Government's Energy Security Corporation and previously leading Foresight Group's Australian business.

“Demand from Australian and New Zealand investors for European energy transition infrastructure opportunities continues to grow. Establishing this investment team in Sydney will allow us to work even more closely with Mirova’s Energy Transition Infrastructure team in Paris while bringing that expertise closer to our local client base,” Danny King, managing director, head of Australia and New Zealand, Natixis Investment Managers Australia, said.  “As clients look to deploy more capital in Europe, this local capability will strengthen our ability to connect them directly with Mirova’s investment expertise, origination capabilities, and opportunity set across the region. It also reflects our long-term confidence in the Australian market and our commitment to expanding Natixis Investment Managers’ capabilities across the region."

"Australia has become a strategic market for Mirova's private assets platform and one of the most dynamic regions globally for energy transition investment,” Raphaël Lance, deputy general manager, global head of private assets, Mirova, continued. “We have already built meaningful experience and strong local relationships through our investments across the region. A dedicated presence in Sydney is a natural next step that will strengthen our origination capabilities, deepen our engagement with market participants and support the continued growth of our energy transition infrastructure activities across Australia and the broader Asia-Pacific region."

The team will be employed by Natixis Investment Managers Australia and provide investment advice to Mirova in relation to its private market investment activities.

Last June, Lance told this news service in an interview that they will be launching a new fund on the energy transition in Asia by the end of the year. It will focus on solar, wind, storage, electric vehicles in India, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand. “Asia is a booming market from an energy point of view. We know the market and it will continue to grow,” he said. There are already six Mirova energy transition funds.

“The energy transition is the core of what we do,” Lance continued. “Eighty per cent of our assets are in the energy transition, mainly in infrastructure, notably electrification. The energy transition was driven by climate change but now it’s also about energy independence, after the conflicts in Ukraine and in Iran, which have caused oil prices to surge,” he said. See more here.