Pragmatic stance needed in search for infrastructure deals

Energy transition, one of the global mega trends affecting the infrastructure sector, will result in a multi-decade secular growth story says Thomas van der Meij, responsible for listed infrastructure strategy at Kempen Asset Management.

“There are plenty of opportunities both in renewables as well as the new energy, but for us it’s essential to find the best opportunities out there and we have a fundamental bottom-up approach for that.”

Van der Meij said that the key is to use data to find the right opportunities, whether it is in pure play renewables or vertically integrated utilities.

“For us it is important that companies are committed to Paris [The Paris Agreement 2016] but they don’t have to be there yet. Carbon intensity can be high or above average today as long as management has identified the opportunities to rotate out of fossil fuels into renewables we’re willing to look forward and and discuss that,” he said.

He accepts too that gas is going to be a transition fuel which will be necessary while other technologies such as hydrogen or battery storage are being developed.”

Click on the video above to watch the full interview or listen to the podcast below.