I Squared Capital Sets Up New Renewable Energy Platform

Global infrastructure fund manager I Squared Capital has established Cube Green Energy, a renewable energy platform dedicated to accelerating the energy transition to a zero-carbon economy in Continental Europe.

The platform will develop, re-power, construct, and operate wind and solar farms, as well as invest in the deployment of associated emerging technologies such as battery storage and green hydrogen.

In 2019, I Squared Capital sold its India portfolio of Singapore- and India-based distributed solar power developer Amplus Energy Solutions to Malaysian national oil and gas company Petronas, which acquired 100% of Amplus for Rs. 2,700 crores. The transaction provided an exit for I Squared Capital, which originally invested $150 million in Amplus in 2015.

Cube Green Energy is led by former senior executives from GE Energy Financial Services (GE EFS), the energy investment arm of General Electric Company, with over 70 years combined global power markets experience including more than 40 years in renewable energy, said I Squared Capital. The new company’s initial focus will be the mature renewables markets in Continental Europe that are at the forefront of the energy transition.

Cube Green Energy CEO, Raghuveer Kurada, has held various leadership roles at GE EFS, including successfully closing and managing over $10 billion of value-accretive investments globally as Head of Global Deal Execution. Most recently, he was responsible for raising over $6 billion in third-party equity and debt for GE projects as Head of Global Capital Advisory.

The other members of the management team include Sharad Jain, Niko Meissner, and Hussain Shalchi. Sharad Jain has over 25 years and 15+ GW of global energy sector investment experience and brings deep domain knowledge in asset investment, management and financial structuring. Niko Meissner has more than 15 years of renewables development experience with GE Power, GE EFS, Vestas and, most recently, Aquila Capital having managed the development of over 6 GW of power generation capacity and will be instrumental in establishing the German operations which is one of the largest target markets. Hussain Shalchi has held various senior positions in the energy sector including acting as Managing Director and Global Counsel at GE EFS and, most recently, as Head of Strategic Joint Venture at Ørsted.

“I Squared Capital has invested over $6.5 billion in transition energy, including $4 billion in 12 renewable energy companies globally since 2014, and we are continuing that strategy with a world-class management team that brings deep experience, industry knowledge and on the ground presence to address an unmet market demand,” said Gautam Bhandari, Managing Partner at I Squared Capital. “Using our platform building strategy, we look to initially commit up to $500 million over the coming years to build Cube Green Energy into a leading renewables company that can help enable Europe’s transition to a zero-carbon economy.”

“Companies and governments must innovate to replace base load power with renewables to meet ambitious climate targets,” said Raghuveer Kurada, CEO, Cube Green Energy. “With a mandate to invest in more efficient and emerging technologies and sector expertise across the project cycle, Cube Green Energy and I Squared Capital are well placed to enable the Renewables 2.0 transition in Continental Europe and beyond.”