Over the past few years, China's energy market has undergone significant changes with rapid growth in renewable energy investments, innovations in clean energy technology, adjustments in the coal industry, increased foreign investment, and the establishment of a carbon market. These shifts have not only profoundly impacted China's energy industry but have also garnered widespread global attention.
On September 21, Cathay Capital announced that its Cathay Smart Energy Fund has officially completed its final closing. This marks the third fund of Cathay Capital to achieve final closure this year.
The Cathay Smart Energy Fund manages a total of CNY 1 billion, with individual investment amounts ranging from CNY 30 million to 100 million. The fund primarily focuses on pivotal technologies and business model innovations related to carbon peaking and neutrality. It invests specifically in sectors like photovoltaics, energy storage, hydrogen energy, distributed energy, carbon management, circular economy, and sustainable development technologies. Prominent investors in the fund include Total Group, Air Liquide, CMA CGM, Schaeffler Group, Yangtze River Venture Capital (Chinese: 长江创投基金), Wuhan Economic Development (Chinese:武汉经开), and Qiaoxin Capital (Chinese: 侨信资本).
Notably, this represents the first time Total Group, Air Liquide, CMA CGM, and Schaeffler Group have collaborated on VC investments in China.
A distinguishing feature of Cathay Capital is its access to global industry resources. As a pivotal connector between Chinese and European investment and industry communities, Cathay Capital remains deeply rooted in industries and continually deepens its insights.
The successful closing of the Cathay Smart Energy Fund further solidifies Cathay Capital's leading position in the field of energy and carbon neutrality investments. Since its inception, the fund has reviewed over 4,000 projects and invested in outstanding innovative startups such as GCL-perovskite(Chinese: 协鑫光电), REFIRE Group (Chinese: 重塑科技), SVOLT (Chinese: 蜂巢能源), Gaopin Tech (Chinese: 高频科技), Unisun Energy (Chinese: 联盛新能源), and Qinggong Connectivity (Chinese: 擎工互联).
Mingpo Cai, the founder and chairman of Cathay Capital, stated, "In recent years, the Cathay Smart Energy Fund has witnessed China's energy market moving towards a cleaner, sustainable, and innovative direction, transitioning from being underrated to highly sought after. We hope to cultivate China's entrepreneurial ecosystem through deep interactions with industry giants, invest in innovative businesses in the energy and carbon neutrality sectors with cutting-edge technologies and potential, support these outstanding founders to achieve their visions, and genuinely create value for the industry."
Against the backdrop of China's active promotion of dual carbon goals, the achievements of the Cathay Smart Energy Fund not only demonstrate global industry leaders' confidence in China's energy market but also invigorate the pursuit of global sustainable development objectives.