Mubadala acquires 'significant stake' in Asper's Dh2.1bn investment vehicle

Dorothea plans to invest in sustainable heating capacity in the Netherlands

Mubadala Investment Company acquired a significant stake in Asper's investment vehicle. WAM

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company said on Tuesday it is acquiring a "significant stake" in an investment vehicle of Asper Investment Management, a Europe-based investor in sustainable infrastructure assets.

Asper's Dorothea platform is planning to invest more than Dh2.1 billion ($571.7 million) into building a network of district heating services across the Netherlands, Mubadala said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This investment is highly attractive for us, as heating networks not only support the development of sustainable energy infrastructure, but are also stable assets which provide predictable cash flows and steady returns," said Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi, chief executive of Mubadala Aerospace, Renewables and ICT.

"Mubadala and Asper have a successful record of investing in public energy services and as Europe transitions to a zero-carbon future, we are excited about the role that Dorothea will play in this.”

Other investors in Dorothea include APG and the European Investment Bank, Mubadala said.

District heating networks are a common feature in many European cities. These are typically networks of hot water pipes running underneath buildings, many of which are now being powered by renewable energy sources as countries look to cut emissions.

Dorothea’s newly installed heating networks are expected to deliver over 2 million gigajoules (GJ) of sustainable heat by using clean-energy sources and are expected to help the Netherlands meet its target of generating all of its energy from clean sources.

The country aims to increase its energy share from renewable power sources to 100 per cent by 2050 from 7 per cent currently. Close to 7 million households in the Netherlands are expected to switch to CO2-free heating solutions to meet these objectives.

An investment in Dorothea will also help Mubadala to commercialise and deploy clean energy while enabling knowledge transfer to benefit its assets in the UAE.

The Abu Dhabi-based investor, which manages assets worth $232bn across six continents, has an extensive utilities portfolio. These include Taweelah, the world’s largest reverse osmosis desalination plant, and its stake in district cooling firm Tabreed.

Earlier this year, the company invested $150m in US-based Enviva, which helps major utilities around the world to displace coal and other fossil fuels to accelerate its energy transition.