Southeast Asia Clean Energy Facility (SEACEF), a Singapore-based fund managed by Clime Capital, has committed to invest in EBOOST, an open-network electric vehicle (EV) charging operator in Vietnam.
The commitment comes about two weeks after the fund also committed to invest in Skye Renewables Holdings Pte Ltd, a commercial and industrial solar developer headquartered in Singapore.
Clime Capital, which focuses on accelerating low carbon transition, did not disclose the financial details of the commitment but said the investment will fund the deployment of EV charging installations in Vietnam, targeting the country’s early EV adopters.
The absence of EV charging infrastructure has been cited as a critical factor holding back the pace of EV deployment in Vietnam and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. To fully realise the benefits of using EVs, charging networks must be created to ensure that the vehicles’ batteries do not run out of energy.
Clime Capital said the EBOOST investment will contribute toward enabling electric mobility in Vietnam.
“We are thrilled to support EBOOST in dramatically expanding the critical resources to electrify transport in urban centres like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, which will provide urgent and massive CO2 mitigation when we need it the most — right now,” said Clime Capital CEO Mason Wallick.
Besides providing the needed infrastructure for EV charging, SEACEF’s investment also has the potential to accelerate decarbonisation of Vietnam’s transport sector, which, according to Clime Capital, accounts for 25% of the country’s CO2 emissions.
EBOOST CEO Stefan Kaufmann said the investment from SEACEF will accelerate its goal of building smart EV infrastructure across Vietnam to serve as many EV users as possible.
SEACEF focuses on companies in the solar, wind, energy storage, energy efficiency, and EV sectors with proven technologies and business models leading the clean energy transition in Southeast Asia.
In July 2021, SEACEF raised $15 million for its clean energy fund backed by Microsoft and several international foundations. The Southeast Asia-focused fund has two anchor limited partners (LPs) — Sea Change Foundation, and Children’s Investment Fund Foundation.
It targets firms in Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The three countries account for 75% of the Southeast Asian population and account for 80% of the region’s greenhouse gases and 90% of the coal project pipeline.
In addition to EBOOST, SEACEF has completed seven investments in Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines since its launch in June 2020. SEACEF is backed by leading international climate foundations and investors.
Its portfolio firms include Indonesian solar leasing project firm Xurya Daya Indonesia; Vietnamese wind power project firm Levanta Renewables; Philippine wind power project firm Real Wind Energy Inc; and Vietnamese solar and energy storage firm Blueleaf Energy.