(Bloomberg) —
Energy Impact Partners, an investment firm that recently closed a new fund of nearly $1.4 billion, is looking to buy out struggling companies working on the energy transition.
The drop in valuation of some companies, coupled with the rise of artificial intelligence creating new demand, makes it an ideal time to shop around, said the firm’s founder and managing partner Hans Kobler.
“There is an opportunity for consolidation for tech companies in the broader energy and power sector as we see growth,” he said. “Many companies funded in the past years are struggling to get to profitability as a standalone company.”
Companies working on renewable energy, utility-scale battery energy storage and electric car charging have struggled to keep afloat in recent years, amid high interest rates and tighter capital markets. More than 100 solar companies went bankrupt in 2024, the worst year for the industry in almost two decades, according to Solar Insure, a fintech firm that tracks the data.
The Trump administration has undertaken actions that further hurt the clean tech sector, including winding down incentives for solar and wind projects and EVs. That’s added to the challenges for companies trying to scale up, including recent high-profile bankruptcies like solar installer Sunnova and battery firm Powin. But energy demand is there, thanks to the rapid AI data center buildout.
From energy storage to renewable energy, “you may find some very attractive technologies at valuations that make a lot more sense now,” Kobler said, whose firm manages about $5 billion in assets. “That’s actually a good time to look into it again.”
To contact the author of this story:
Coco Liu in New York at yliu1640@bloomberg.net
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