Engineered Climate Solutions
Buy-to-hold growth strategy – GAIA Fund
Proven over the past decade, our Engineered Climate Solutions strategy is currently on its third fund – the Gaia Fund.
Raised in 2019, the Gaia Fund is Greensphere’s primary investment vehicle in the Engineered Climate Solutions strategy, investing in growth-stage industrial solutions in renewable energy, agriculture and forestry on a buy-to-hold basis.
The Gaia Fund invests in growth companies and assets in two main areas. The first is Sustainable Forestry and Biomass Energy, through the group of companies held under the Welsh Bio-Enterprises group. The second is in Sustainable Agricultural Management and Anaerobic Digestion through the Duranta Holdings group of companies.
WBE Group
WBE’s companies collectively turn forest residues from its sustainable forestry management into green energy. As a group, they have also invested in innovative solutions from greenhouses to growing native Welsh trees and shrubs and powering sustainable agriculture.
WBE carries out its own sustainable harvesting of Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC®) timber. Targeted tree harvesting operations are necessary to sustainably manage our forests. WBE supplies log into the sustainable forestry products market for use in construction and other timber materials. The biomass that is taken to its plant for processing into fuel comes from the local area, minimising transportation and therefore fossil fuels into our supply chain. They don’t cut down forests for the sole purpose of turning the trees into fuel and we don’t import virgin wood pellets.
The processed fuel is used in their recently upgraded biomass power plant based in Margam, Wales which generates enough electricity to power up to 40,000 homes, which is up to two thirds of all homes in the local Neath Port Talbot area.
WBE aims to help Wales lead the charge in ensuring the UK reaches these ambitious targets. They have invested in innovative solutions which include proposals such as setting up greenhouses to grow native, Welsh trees and shrubs, sustainable agriculture and other closed loop carbon and resource symbiotic enterprises that are run from the waste carbon dioxide, energy and heat produced by the plant.
Duranta Holdings
The Duranta Holdings group of companies takes organic wastes, refines it into a sustainable fuel and uses it to produce green gas and electricity for 19,000 homes and businesses in the North East of England (Teesside and Middlesbrough). The group also produces an organic bio-fertiliser from the residues, and works with farmers to manage nutrients to land.
Duranta has worked with various regulatory entities in raising the bar for the quality of organic fertiliser and has recently started working with land managers on regenerative agriculture schemes.