At the COP27 climate conference, the European Investment Fund (EIF), Europe's largest venture capital and private equity financier, signed investments totalling €247 million to enable five equity funds to back €2.5 billion of climate action investment that helps to deliver the European Union's climate and energy targets.

The new financing contributes to the European Green Deal, the roadmap for Europe to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, and REPowerEU, the plan to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition.

The investment agreed — backed by the InvestEU programme — will enable the fund managers to reach a first close or attain their target fund size.

The EIF has committed:

• €28 million to the Growth Blue Fund I, a private equity fund focusing on the blue economy, sustainable economic activities relating to the oceans. It will mainly invest in Portuguese small and medium companies across all sectors.
• €30 million to PureTerra Ventures, a water technology early growth fund, which invests in small and medium enterprises across the European Union scaling game-changing technologies to radically alter the usage, conservation and treatment of water. PureTerra is the first of its kind specialist water-focused fund in Europe and the first water-focused investment in the EIF's venture capital portfolio.
• €39 million to the Zintinus Fund I, a venture capital fund focused on growth stage investments in sustainable food innovation across Europe, in particular alternative proteins, functional food, clean nutrition and food waste reduction.
• €75 million to the SUMA Capital Climate Impact Fund III, an infrastructure fund targeting greenfield energy transition and circular economy projects predominantly in Spain.
• €75 million to the Eiffel Transition Infrastructure Fund, an innovative fund designed to provide equity bridge financing for renewable energy infrastructure assets in Europe.