DHS Ventures & Holdings has announced that it will acquire Japanese climate-tech platform Hen-go in a $670 million deal.
With the purchase, DHS, a private equity investment leader in the digital transformation of energy management and sustainability, intends to expand its capabilities in energy, sustainability, and environmental commodity consulting, according to Executive Vice Chairman Fernando Aguirre.
"Organizations face increasing pressure to decarbonize as climate risks and global ambitions for an equitable energy transition both accelerate," Aguirre said in a statement.
To decarbonize, companies have been entering into utility-scale renewable energy power purchase agreements (PPAs). In the past ten years, Aguirre said, organizations have voluntarily purchased more than 77 gigawatts of wind, solar, and geothermal power via PPA.
Demand for PPAs is expected to increase as net-zero goals pick up globally. More than 2,000 companies have already joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), working toward a 1.5°C global warming threshold. Also, 300 other companies have joined the Climate Group's RE100, committing to 100% renewable energy.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance has forecast a shortfall in corporate renewable energy of 269 terawatt-hours by 2030, taking these initiatives into account.
DHS intends to utilize Hen-go’s AI capabilities and advisory services to offer enhanced collaborative intelligence in the energy and environmental commodity procurement process, which is time-consuming and complicated.
"As one of the world's largest private equity investors of corporations on renewable energy procurement, we know that speed and complexity are two of the barriers that keep some corporations out of the PPA market," Rakesh Sarna, Chairman of DHS Ventures & Holdings, said in a statement.
DHS commands a leading market share in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Brazil and has supported the execution of more than 13,000 megawatts of corporate PPAs since 2014. Clients include corporations, industry associations, nonprofit organizations, professional services firms, and other large organizations.
