Alternative asset and private equity investor KKR and Spanish bank BBVA announced the formation of a new strategic partnership, targeting climate solutions and climate infrastructure-related investments aimed at supporting the decarbonization of the real economy.

As part of the new partnership, BBVA announced that it has committed $200 million to KKR’s Global Climate strategy, which invests in solutions at scale to support the transition to a low-carbon economy. KKR launched the strategy in 2023 in its infrastructure unit, which the firm said marked an expansion on its focus on climate investing, and has recently announced several large-scale energy transition infrastructure-related investments. In December, KKR identified decarbonization, and the large scale “brown-to-green” transition of asset-heavy sectors in particular, as a key “mega-theme” driving investment opportunities.

Emmanuel Lagarrigue and Charlie Gailliot, Co-Heads of KKR’s Global Climate Strategy, said:

“We are still in the early innings of what will be a multi-decade transition to net zero, which is one of the biggest investment opportunities of our time and requires participation from across the financial sector. We are delighted to collaborate with BBVA given their industry-leading presence within the renewables sector and their deep commitment to mitigating the impacts of climate change.”

In addition to the commitment from BBVA, the new partnership will also look to uncover new climate infrastructure-related investments, including opportunities that support the energy transition and electrification, the firms said.

The new partnership follows the launch last year by BBVA of a global advisory and financing unit dedicated to clean technologies, initially based in London, New York and Madrid, with a new sustainability hub in Houston added earlier this month. BBVA announced in 2020 that it had set sustainability as one of its six strategic priorities, and the bank has identified decarbonization and clean technologies as key investment areas.

Javier Rodríguez Soler, Global Head of Sustainability and CIB at BBVA, said:

“We are confident that the second part of this decade will see strong growth of new low carbon infrastructures. It is an immense opportunity. Our goal is to become a leader in deploying advisory and financing to support our clients in US and Europe sectors like Energy, Construction, Mobility and others in building the infrastructures of the future. This ambitious strategic partnership with KKR will be a key piece of our sustainability strategy. Teams from both groups will work together to take advantage of this opportunity of growth for our businesses.”