Hamburg, 10 March 2025 – This month marks the one-year anniversary of the AC One Planet ELTIF. Aquila Capital, an asset manager specialising in sustainable real asset investments, launched the fund in March 2024 as the first ”ELTIF 2.0” in Europe under the revised ELTIF regulation to provide a broader group of investors with access to private market investments and financing opportunities in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure. With the results achieved so far, the fund has demonstrated its success as an innovative and sustainable investment vehicle.
Already in its first year, the portfolio’s performance exceeded expectations: The fund has made eight investments in six European countries across solar PV, wind energy and battery storage at different project stages. This diversification across different technologies, geographies and project stages helps mitigate risks while optimising return potential. In particular, the focus on battery storage, which enhances grid stability and balances energy prices, is proving to be a forward-looking approach. One example is the investment in a large-scale battery storage project in the town Wetzen, located south of Hamburg, which capitalises on price fluctuations and can supply 70,000 households with electricity for two hours.
ELTIF 2.0: A new standard for infrastructure investments
The ability to hold ELTIF investments in custodian accounts and seamlessly integrate them into traditional securities and reporting systems makes this fund category attractive to private investors. Previously comparable fund strategies were almost exclusively available to institutional and semi-professional investors. The AC One Planet ELTIF is classified as an Article 9 financial product under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), meaning that at least 80% of its portfolio is allocated in sustainable assets. This structure enables investors to contribute to a sustainable future while benefiting from the opportunities of the energy transition.
Simon Laier, Fund Manager of AC One Planet ELTIF, says: “With a fund volume of over EUR 200 million and a target distribution of 4% from 2025, AC One Planet ELTIF is setting new standards in sustainable infrastructure investment. Our strategy demonstrates that it is possible to combine attractive returns with long-term sustainability - without the typical J-curve effect¹ .”
Sustainable infrastructure as a growing asset class
Sustainable infrastructure, particularly in renewable energy, is increasingly recognised as a stable investment opportunity with strong return potential, offering an alternative for example to traditional real estate investments. The combination of stable performance from real assets, predictable payouts and active risk management makes sustainable infrastructure a preferred choice for long-term investors.
Christian Holste, Head of Client Advisory & Business Development at Aquila Capital, comments: “Renewable energy is and will remain the most cost-effective form of electricity generation. As the most economically viable energy source, continued strong growth in this sector is both logical and expected. In addition, battery storage is essential for grid stability – particularly given the rising electricity demand from data centres, AI applications and further electrification of other sectors – and is therefore also expected to grow significantly. The energy transition is unstoppable, and our fund is actively contributing to the development of these future technologies.”
Successful start and Scope Award recognition
In its first year, the fund was honoured with the prestigious Scope Award 2025 in the ELTIF - Private Markets Infrastructure category, recognising its innovation and pioneering role in the ELTIF 2.0 segment. The independent fund experts at Scope thus confirmed Aquila Capital’s strategy of making sustainable real assets accessible to a broad investor base.
¹ The J-curve effect means that an investment fund initially shows losses or low returns before lonterm gains are realised