European circular bioeconomy fund near closing

Hauck & Aufhäuser Fund Services S.A. will act as the Alternative Investment Fund Manager. The ECFB will provide access to equity, debt or quasi-equity to late stage innovative companies and projects related to the circular bioeconomy. ECBF Management aims to announce the first close for funds from public and private investors with a target fund volume of €250m in Q1/2020. 

A proposal for the EIB to invest up to €100m in the fund will be submitted to the EIB’s Board of Directors for approval. This investment will be backed by a guarantee from InnovFin – EU Finance for Innovators, an initiative of the EIB Group and the European Commission to facilitate access to finance for innovation and research.

Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: “Sustainable bioeconomy has the potential to play a major role for the European Green Deal. It will help us reach our environmental, climate and biodiversity targets in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The European Circular Bioeconomy Fund will fill the funding gaps, attracting private investments that bring bio-based innovations closer to the market.”

 Andrew McDowell, EIB Vice-President responsible for agriculture and bioeconomy, made clear that the fund particularly targets companies using bio-based resources: “Using renewable biological resources to produce our goods and energy is essential to transition to a circular economy and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. With the launch of the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund, we have reached an important milestone to ensure that groundbreaking projects in the sector get the financing they need.”

Michael Brandkamp, Head of ECBF, said: “In the transforming industry we see great investment opportunities in Europe contributing to a sustainable circular economy. With more than 30 years of investment experience, the ECBF team has the right qualifications do the execution professionally. .”

 The creation of a circular bioeconomy fund was recommended by the 2017 Innovfin Advisory study Access-to-finance conditions for Investments in Bio-Based Industries and the Blue Economy which identified an important financing gap in the bioeconomy sector.