MAPFRE’s biomethane fund receives support from Official Credit Institute

Spain’s Official Credit Institute (ICO in Spanish) is showing its support for the fund known as MAPFRE Energías Renovables II, FCR. The insurance group, together with its partner, IAM Carbonzero, launched this innovative vehicle last year, as the first fund in Europe dedicated to investment in biomethane, a 100% green biofuel derived from agriculture sector waste.

ICO will be investing €15 million in the fund through Axis, its venture capital subsidiary. Specifically, Axis will make the investment through its own fund named Fond-ICO Sostenibilidad e Infraestructuras, which promotes investment in infrastructure projects for sustainable mobility, renewable energies, and circular economy.

Since its launch, the MAPFRE Energías Renovables II fund has been developing a total of nine plants across Extremadura, Castile and León, and Madrid. It is expected that the construction phase of these projects will begin during the last quarter of this year and the beginning of 2025, with their entry into operation in 2025. In addition, IAM Carbonzero has currently identified 20 projects in the origination phase in the regions of Andalusia, Aragon, Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia, and Galicia.

MAPFRE’s aim during this first phase is to raise up to €100 million, for construction and development of 20 to 25 biomethane plants in Spain over a five-year period. This will directly generate approximately 70 permanent job

positions, with an additional 240 generated indirectly. It counts on some of the best partners to carry out its efforts: IAM Carbonzero is responsible for identifying and executing projects, while Abante is the financial partner. MAPFRE’s fund has been categorized as an “article 9” fund under the classification from the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

Given the types of projects being promoted by the MAPFRE Energías Renovables II fund, the amounts that Axis is investing can be sourced from the EU Next Generation funding that the ICO Group will be managing during the second phase of Spain’s Recovery Plan. This will take place through its ICO Verde initiative, which is focused on promoting the country’s green transition.