5 October 2022  |  Paris

DIF Capital Partners invests in leading global renewable energy platform Qair

Qair, a fast growing renewable energy platform company, and DIF Capital Partners, a leading global independent investment manager, are pleased to announce that they have signed a partnership agreement whereby DIF, through DIF Infrastructure VII, will invest in the company to accelerate its growth and portfolio build out.

Qair is an independent power producer that develops, owns, and operates multi-technology renewable energy projects. The platform is focused on a wide range of technologies including onshore and offshore wind, utility scale solar, energy from waste, hydroelectricity, (battery) storage, hydrogen production, as well as tidal energy. Qair is a global player with a presence in 20 countries. The majority of its activities are based in France, Poland, Germany, Italy, Spain and Brazil. The company has 550 employees and is headquartered in Paris, France.

Qair has an operational portfolio of c. 1 GW, which is mainly comprised of (onshore) wind (c. 75%) and solar projects, as well as a development pipeline of 25 GW. The company benefits from strong development capabilities and foresees to add around 4 GW of renewable projects over the next five years.

Louis Blanchard, CEO of Qair: “With my partners Jean Marc Bouchet and RGreen, and the broader Qair team, we are happy to welcome DIF Capital Partners and join forces to pursue the development of our group’s strategy. We are confident that with the entrepreneurial spirit that drives us both, DIF will offer us the best support in our mission to accelerate the energy transition, especially within the current complex energy market.”

Gijs Voskuyl, Partner at DIF and Head of Investments for DIF Infrastructure VII adds: “DIF is delighted to partner with Qair and its management team and support them in their next phase of growth. We believe the company has built up an excellent track record and an impressive pipeline across a wide range of renewable energy sectors and countries and is very well positioned to play a leading role in the continuous decarbonization of the global economy”.

Qair was advised by August Debouzy, PSP Avocats, NM Advisory, 8 Advisory, PwC, Niddam-Drouas and Drooms. DIF was advised by Astris Finance, KPMG, H3P, Clifford Chance, UL, DNV, Baringa and Marsh.

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is a leading global independent investment manager, with ca. EUR 14 billion in assets under management across eleven closed-end infrastructure funds and several co-investment vehicles. DIF invests in infrastructure companies and assets located primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Australia through two complementary strategies:

  • DIF CIF funds, of which DIF CIF III is the latest vintage, target equity investments in small to mid-sized core-plus infrastructure companies in the telecom, energy transition, and transportation sectors.
  • Traditional DIF funds, of which DIF Infrastructure VII is the latest vintage, target core and build-to-core infrastructure equity investments with long-term contracted or regulated income streams including public-private partnerships, concessions, utilities, and energy transition projects (incl. renewable energy).

DIF Capital Partners has a team of over 200 professionals, based in eleven offices located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information please visit www.dif.eu.

Contact: Thijs Verburg, t.verburg@dif.eu.