Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the investment manager for Norway’s $1.8 trillion oil fund announced a new agreement with Brookfield Asset Management, committing $1.5 billion to its latest energy transition fund, the Brookfield Global Transition Fund (BGTF II).
Brookfield’s BGTF investment strategy focuses on three primary areas, including the expansion of clean energy, the transformation of companies operating in carbon-intensive sectors to more sustainable business models, and the acceleration of sustainable solutions, with investments across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions.
Brookfield launched BGTF II in 2023, after closing its predecessor fund the prior year at $15 billion. By early 2024, Brookfield announced that it has raised $10 billion at the first close of BGTF II, with the fund on track at the time to exceed the size of its record-breaking predecessor BGTF fund, which would make it the largest private fund dedicated to investing in the net zero economy.
In a social media post following the NBIM announcement, Connor Teskey, President of Brookfield Asset Management and CEO of Brookfield Renewable Partners, said:
“It is a pleasure to welcome Norges Bank Investment Management as a partner in our flagship transition strategy. Their $1.5 billion commitment demonstrates the strong alignment between our two organizations on the investment opportunities we see in the energy transition.”
The new agreement marks the latest in a series of moves by NBIM to build its renewables infrastructure portfolio, following a mandate from Norway’s Ministry of Finance in 2019 enabling the fund to invest in unlisted renewable energy infrastructure. To date, the fund has completed eight direct investments in European solar, onshore and offshore wind, and electricity transmission systems, and made one other indirect investment, through a €900 million allocation last year to a fund managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
Harald von Heyden, Global Head of Energy and Infrastructure at Norges Bank Investment Management, said:
“This agreement marks our first investment in an energy transition fund. BGTF II will enable us to invest in projects that develop renewable energy infrastructure while also supporting the broader transition to low-carbon solutions across industries.”
