Fortescue sets up investment platform to fund green energy projects

Andrew Forrest, chairman of Fortescue Future Industries. tours the outdoor Hydrogen Fueling Station and Bioreactor at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (Image by Joe DelNero, courtesy of NREL).

Australia’s Fortescue said on Thursday it has launched a new investment platform to attract more investment in its green energy projects as the miner pivots towards establishing itself as a major global supplier of green energy.

New York-based Fortescue Capital will be led by Robert Tichio and act as a fiduciary for third-party capital to complement the company’s finance teams in its energy and metals division, Fortescue said.

“Fortescue is taking its global pipeline of green hydrogen and green ammonia projects to final investment decision and in doing so, has communicated our intention and desire to bring additional equity investors onboard,” Fortescue Energy CEO Mark Hutchinson said.

The funding model for projects will differ based on the project and Fortescue expects to hold stakes of between 25% and 50% stake in projects with outside investors, the company said.

Fortescue, in recent years, has significantly stepped up its investment in renewable projects to cash in on the global transition towards green energy and decarbonization, but that has led to an exodus of high-level management and raised investor concerns.

Tichio joins Fortescue after over 17 years at Riverstone Holdings, a New York-based private equity firm. He will be joined by a leadership team with backgrounds across sustainable infrastructure, climate technology, energy and private markets.

(By Roshan Thomas; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Savio D’Souza)

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