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French private equity firm InfraVia to launch 2 bln euro critical materials fund

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
PARIS, May 10 (Reuters) - French private equity firm InfraVia Capital Partners said on Wednesday it planned to launch a 2 billion euro ($2.2 billion) fund dedicated to critical materials projects, a quarter of which will be financed by the government.


So-called critical materials such as lithium, nickel and cobalt are essential to the car industry as it increasingly turns to electric batteries to power vehicles, and are widely used by the renewable energy industry.


InfraVia expects to reach a first closing of 1 billion euros by the end of 2023, including the 500 million euros pledged by the French state under the France 2030 scheme, it said in a statement.


The funds provided by the French government will be monitored by the country's public lender Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC), InfraVia said.


The upcoming fund would add a new line of business to InfraVia, whose investments have so far mainly be made in the transportation, tech and telecoms sector.


Its launch will involve hiring a dedicated team, InfraVia's CEO Vincent Levita said, adding that the fund would guarantee long-term financial returns and help secure supplies for French and European industry. The fund will invest in critical materials projects involving extraction, refining and recycling, Levita said. The duration of the fund would initially be 25 years. ($1 = 0.9084 euros) (Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Jan Harvey)

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