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Infrastructure & Investment Newsletter – 2026 Volume 10

In this edition

European infrastructure investment activity continues across renewable energy, battery storage, digital infrastructure and financing strategies. In this edition of the ODM Infrastructure & Investment Review, we examine recent corporate and asset-level transactions, new investment platforms, debt and fundraising developments, and senior appointments across the European market.

Contents

ODM Perspective

Why a management incentive plan should work beyond the best case

Management Incentive Plans (MIPs) are becoming increasingly important when hiring leadership teams for infrastructure and energy-transition platforms. However, an incentive that appears well aligned at the outset can look quite different two or three years later if the business develops differently from the original investment case.

A well-designed MIP should remain relevant across a realistic range of outcomes, recognising the value management can still create outside the original best-case scenario. This requires looking beyond the headline percentage to consider the hurdle, ratchet, entry valuation, dilution, personal investment and potential exit value.

Key considerations

  • Hurdle
  • Ratchet
  • Entry valuation
  • Dilution
  • Personal investment
  • Potential exit value

In our 2026 Q2 European Hiring Review, Adam O’Donnell explores how cash and long-term participation can work together—and why retaining flexibility may help as the business and leadership team evolve.

Read the full article and download the2026 Q2 European Hiring Review here.

01

Corporate & Strategic Investments

10 updates

  • Blackstone Infrastructure has completed its investment in Eurowind Energy, acquiring a 24.7% stake after receiving the required regulatory approvals. Blackstone has committed up to DKK 15 billion to support Eurowind Energy’s expansion across Europe, including developing new wind, solar and battery projects, increasing long-term asset, ownership, and potential strategic acquisitions.pursuing 
  • Carlyle and CVC DIF have agreed to acquire BauWatch from Haniel, which will retain a 10% minority stake. The investment will support BauWatch’s continued growth, product development and international expansion across its European markets. Carlyle will invest through its Carlyle Europe Partners platform, while CVC DIF will invest through Value-Add IV.
  • Drax has completed the £548 million acquisition of Bluefield Solar Income Fund, adding solar and wind assets to its generation portfolio. The transaction brings approximately 0.9GW of operating and under-construction renewable assets, alongside a gross development pipeline of 2.9GW.
  • EQT and Norwegian sovereign wealth manager Norges Bank have launched a bid to purchase Acciona Energia, with EQT expected to hold approximately 75% of the bidding vehicle and Norges Bank the remaining 25%. Ardian is also reported to be participating in the sale process, with bidders expected to submit proposed prices in October before a preferred buyer is selected.
  • Hy24 has agreed to acquire Uniper’s 20% stake in OPAL, a 470km regulated transmission corridor running from north-eastern Germany to the German-Czech border. The transaction marks Hy24’s first investment in regulated transmission infrastructure and provides exposure to a key part of Germany’s Hydrogen Core Network.
  • ICG’s European Infrastructure team has agreed to acquire Westerleigh Group from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Universities Superannuation Scheme. Westerleigh operates 42 crematoria across England, Scotland and Wales, with the investment intended to support further development of its existing network, new locations and service offering.
  • InfraRed Capital Partners has agreed to acquire 100% of Hector Rail from Ancala in a transaction valuing the business at SEK 2.61 billion. Hector Rail operates approximately 100 predominantly electric locomotives across Sweden, Norway and Denmark, with an additional presence in Germany, providing rail freight services across timber and pulp, intermodal freight and energy.
  • Mirova has invested €65 million in two battery energy storage projects developed by Ingrid Capacity, forming the initial portfolio of its newly established Nordic Storage Platform. The projects, located in Finland and Sweden, will provide a combined 145MW of power capacity and 290MWh of storage, with Ingrid Capacity responsible for development, operation and optimisation.
  • Qualitas Energy, through Qualitas Energy Fund VI, has agreed to acquire Cero Generation’s core European platform from Macquarie Group. The transaction includes a 5.8GW portfolio of solar PV and battery energy storage projects across the UK, Italy and Spain, comprising more than 2GW of assets in operation, under construction or at ready-to-build stage, alongside a further 3.8GW development pipeline.
  • Stonepeak has made an equity investment in AMPYR Distributed Energy, a distributed energy infrastructure platform operating across the UK and Europe. The investment will support the expansion of ADE’s on-site renewable energy portfolio for commercial and industrial customers, while AGP will retain an interest in the business. ADE has a development pipeline of more than 1GW and has contracted 250MW of renewable energy projects across approximately 200 sites.

02

Asset Level Deals

5 updates

  • AIP Management has acquired two operational onshore wind farms in Sweden, creating a 312MW Nordic renewables portfolio. The assets comprise the 71MW Aldermyrberget wind farm in northern Sweden and the 241MW Överturingen wind farm in central Sweden, operational since 2020 and 2022, respectively.,
  • BW ESS has acquired two standalone battery energy storage projects in Spain’s Valencia region from Navacant, with a combined capacity of 126MW and up to 675MWh of storage. The projects have capacities of 99MW and 27MW respectively and are expected to reach ready-to-build status in 2027, with commercial operations targeted for 2028.
  • Equitix has agreed to sell Enerfarm, a portfolio of five anaerobic digestion and biomethane plants in northern Italy, to VORN Bioenergy. Equitix acquired the portfolio in 2022 and has since supported its conversion from biogas-to-power assets into biomethane facilities. Once fully operational, the portfolio is expected to produce more than 215GWh of renewable gas annually.
  • Foresight Group has completed the acquisition of the Blackhillock Synchronous Condenser in North-East Scotland from funds managed by Global Infrastructure Partners, part of BlackRock. The asset has been operational since July 2025 and provides approximately 2GVA of short-circuit capacity to support voltage recovery and grid stability.
  • Octopus Energy Generation has invested in three operational solar farms in Ireland with a combined capacity of 43MW on behalf of its Sky fund. The portfolio comprises two projects in County Kildare and one in County Cork, taking Octopus Energy Generation’s Irish renewable energy portfolio to more than 300MW across nine operational and under-construction sites. The projects will generate enough clean electricity to power around 10,000 homes.

03

New Platforms, Partnerships and Strategies

3 updates

  • ICG has launched a European infrastructure debt strategy focused on providing flexible financing to infrastructure transactions, projects and businesses across Europe. The strategy will target core and core-plus sectors, with a particular focus on sub-investment grade debt and opportunities linked to energy transition, digitalisation and other essential infrastructure.
  • Margaux Platforms has launched Astor, a pan-European AI infrastructure platform focused on developing power-connected, ready-to-build data centre sites and multi-tenant facilities across grid-constrained European markets. The platform will target metropolitan edge data centres of less than 100MW, designed to support AI, cloud and other high-density computing requirements.
  • Qualitas Energy has launched Navaris, a German renewable energy platform bringing together the portfolio, project pipeline, teams and operational capabilities developed through Qualitas Energy Fund IV and Fund V. Navaris will operate as a Qualitas Energy portfolio company, with 1.3GW of assets in operation or under construction and more than 3GW of projects in advanced development, focused primarily on onshore wind development and repowering across Germany.

04

Debt/Financing News

3 updates

  • ENERPARC AG has filed for insolvency and holds over €1bn in debt. The filing comes as a surprise given the company’s strong foothold in the market backed by 5GW of operational capacity.
  • EIG has closed EIG Senior Infrastructure Debt Fund VI at $1.9 billion, nearly twice the size of its predecessor. Together with $2.1 billion raised through single-investor vehicles, the strategy has secured $4 billion of commitments, exceeding its original $3 billion target. The fund will provide senior secured financing across power generation, renewable energy, energy transition infrastructure, midstream and other critical infrastructure, primarily in the US and Europe.
  • Golding Capital Partners has closed Golding Infrastructure Co-Investment 2023 at €450 million. The fund is the third vintage of the firm’s infrastructure co-investment strategy and will invest in core-plus and value-add opportunities across mobility, digital infrastructure and decarbonization, primarily in Europe and North America.

05

Fundraising News

1 update

  • I Squared Capital has raised $12.5 billion towards the $15 billion target for ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund IV. Its Growth Markets Infrastructure Fund II has also reached $2.3 billion, representing approximately 77% of its $3 billion target. Both strategies will deploy capital across regional and sector-focused infrastructure platforms.

06

People Moves

21 appointments

  • Andrew Byatt has joined Australian Retirement Trust as Senior Portfolio Manager, Infrastructure.
  • Aram Aharonian has joined Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners as Managing Director, having previously been Investment Director at Antin Infrastructure Partners. 
  • Augustin Segard has joined Intermediate Capital Group as Managing Director – Co-Head of Infrastructure, having previously been Head of Junior Infrastructure Debt at Schroders Capital
  • Barthélémy Dognin has joined CDPQ as Senior Director, having previously been Director at Patrizia.
  • Charles Le Texier has joined CVC DIF as Director, having previously been Private Equity Director at MML Capital Partners. 
  • Christian Schmid has joined DC Advisory as Managing Director, having previously been Senior Advisor at Centrus.
  • Dirk Holzrichter has joined MIRAI Power as Chief Operating Officer, having previously been Head of Market Entry & Intelligence at GOLDBECK SOLAR Gruppe. 
  • Gregoire Castres Saint Martin has joined ICG as Managing Director – Co-Head of Infrastructure Debt, having previously been Managing Director – Financing at Antin Infrastructure Partners. 
  • Jacqueline Ho has joined CVC DIF as Investment Director, having previously been Director – Investments at Cero Generation.
  • John Bruen has joined Infracapital as Head of Infracapital, having previously been Managing Director at H.I.G Capital. 
  • Kurt Pierloot has joined CubeCold as Chief Executive Officer, having previously been CEO at Bleckmann. 
  • Luke Bennett has joined Jefferies as Senior Vice President, having previously been Director at MUFG. 
  • Marcel Beverungen has joined MEAG as Head of European Infrastructure, previously Managing Director at CVC DIF.
  • Nana Obuo Raphael has joined Ardian Infrastructure as Managing Director, having previously been Managing Director at Jefferies. 
  • Niels Kruims has joined Repowered as Chief Financial Officer, having previously been CFO at Novar. 
  • Pav Lamba has joined Arcus Infrastructure Partners as Senior Director, previously Senior Director at CBRE Investment Management. 
  • Ross Board has joined Guggenheim Partners as Managing Director – Power & Utilities, having previously been Director – Power & Utilities at RBC Capital Markets. 
  • Sam Felman has joined Santander Asset Management as Senior Director, Infrastructure Credit – Alternative Investments, having previously been Investment Director, Private Credit at AustralianSuper. 
  • Sofiya Huzenko has joined Amber Infrastructure as Principal, Infrastructure Investment & Value Creation, having previously been Senior Director at Alvarez & Marsal. 
  • Thibaut Lebrun-Taugourdeau has joined La Banque Postale as Director, having previously been Senior Investment Manager at TIIC. 
  • Xavier Klaeyle has joined REDEN as Head of BESS Investments, having previously been Director at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. 


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