Green-energy company Zhero today announces it has attracted three world leading climate investors to support its first net 5GW of flagship low-cost renewable energy projects.
These projects will accelerate the energy transition at a time of acute energy crisis globally and help to close the growing gap between climate ambition and climate action.
- Three Cairns Group, Galvanize Climate Solutions and Fortescue Future Industries today announce they are investing in fast growing new-energy company Zhero whose purpose is to help accelerate a global affordable energy transition at a time of a worsening energy crisis.
- Zhero has been founded by a world-class team that has been at the forefront of energy innovation for many years with a track-record of delivering over $100bn of industry-defining energy projects.
- Zhero is targeting Final Investment Decision (“FID”) 5GW (net to Zhero) of innovative flagship low cost energy projects by 2026 across its platforms in the US, Europe and MENA and Australia.
- Zhero’s first investment has been Tree Energy Solutions (“TES”).
New York & Amsterdam & Perth – October 27th, 2022 – Zhero, a new green energy development company, has closed its funding round from leading climate investors Three Cairns Group (“Three Cairns”), Galvanize Climate Solutions (“Galvanize”) and Fortescue Future Industries (“FFI”). The funding will support the development of Zhero’s renewable energy, green hydrogen and storage projects.
Zhero was founded by Marco Alverà, Paddy Padmanathan, Alessandra Pasini and Enrico Vitali at a time when a new generation of renewables are positioned for massive scale-up. Zhero is working towards a first target of bringing to FID 5GW (net to Zhero) of projects by 2026.
Zhero will develop, own and operate at-scale projects in renewable power generation, hydrogen and derivatives, interconnections and energy storage, also facilitating the repurposing of traditional energy infrastructure. Projects being developed and assessed includes initiatives in the US, Europe Africa and Middle East and selectively in Australia. Zhero will evaluate partnerships with its shareholders and with other industry participants to ensure faster delivery of scaled industry changing projects. Zhero’s first investment was in Tree Energy Solutions (TES). TES aims to accelerate the development of a world leading green energy import facility in Germany.
Zhero’s team has a combined unique track record of delivering over $100bn of industry defining energy projects across molecules and electrons as well as deep knowledge in energy storage solutions which will be an essential component to manage increased volatility and growing hydrogen volumes. Zhero will help meet global decarbonizsation goals by developing more resilient and lower cost energy projects. Affordable green energy will be an increasingly critical factor in the transition to a low carbon economy and companies such as Zhero aim to close the growing gap between climate ambition and climate action.
Zhero’s competitive edge will come from applying its well proven expertise across the renewable and hydrogen space including electrolyzers, to minimize time to delivery and maximize value creation. The team brings a distinctive track record on developing large scale complex projects, including gigascale green hydrogen production, unique access and established relationships with suppliers, technology providers, financial institutions, utilities, energy players and offtakers.
Marco Alverà has authored “The Hydrogen Revolution”, an FT book of the year. He has been CEO of Snam, previously worked at Eni, Enel and Goldman Sachs, and has extensive experience in the energy industry. Paddy Padmanathan is the Vice Chairman & Chief Executive of ACWA Power, a start-up he joined in 2005 and developed to a leading developer, owner and operator of power generation, desalinated water production and now green hydrogen plants with a portfolio value in excess of USD 75 Billion and 60 GW of installed capacity. Alessandra Pasini was CFO at Snam, where she also was in charge of international assets, business development and storage activities. She previously worked in the energy and infrastructure space at Barclays and Citi. Enrico Vitali was leading partner of Tremonti Vitali Romagnoli Piccardi e Associati and has been member of the Board of International Advisors of Goldman Sachs. Previously he has been coordinator of the Strategic Committee for the Foreign Development and Defense of the Domestic Interest in Economy.
Three Cairns Group (www.threecairnsgroup.com) is a mission-driven investment and philanthropic firm founded in 2015 by Mark Gallogly and Lise Strickler. The firm works to build and support innovative organizations, platforms, and initiatives to accelerate climate action.
Galvanize Climate Solutions (www.galvanizeclimatesolutions.com), founded by Tom Steyer and Katie Hall, is a multi-asset, climate-focused investment firm providing capital and expertise to accelerate critical decarbonization solutions. Galvanize, with deep expertise across investment, science and technology, market development, policy, and communications, is a purpose-built climate capital partner.
Fortescue (www.fortescue.com) is one of the world’s most successful iron ore companies, and has been at the forefront of innovation in the mining industry, becoming one of the lowest cost iron ore producers. Now, through its green energy and technology company Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), it is rapidly diversifying the business to become an integrated, global green energy and resources company. Key to this transition are industry leading targets to achieve real zero emissions for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 and net zero Scope 3 emissions by 2040. FFI is leading the global effort to help decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors and is developing and acquiring the technology and energy supply to help decarbonise Fortescue’s business, while building a global portfolio of renewable green hydrogen and green ammonia projects.
