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Danish Energy Agency and IFU strengthen cooperation on green energy in developing and emerging countries

17. December 2020

IFU: There is a great need for green energy in developing and emerging countries, and many Danish companies have the right solutions. An agreement between the Danish Energy Agency and the Investment Fund for Developing Countries, IFU, will contribute to sharing of the Danish green transition experience and financing solutions within green energy in a number of countries, such as India, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mexico, and Vietnam.

Capital mobilization is crucial in driving the green transformation of the energy sector. At the same time, financing is also of great importance for Danish exports of green energy solutions. Therefore, the Danish Energy Agency and IFU are now entering into a closer collaboration to increase the exchange of knowledge and strengthen Danish solutions. This is especially true for areas such as wind, district heating and energy efficiency.

“There is great potential for green energy in emerging and developing countries, and I am sure that with closer cooperation between the Danish Energy Agency and IFU, we can increase our contribution to both the green transition and the success of Danish companies in a number of more difficult markets,” says Torben Huss, CEO of IFU.

At the Danish Energy Agency, Director Kristoffer Böttzauw sees the closer collaboration with IFU as an important implementation of the Danish government’s increased focus on raising international climate finance.

“We experience that climate financing is increasingly in demand in a number of the developing and emerging countries where the Danish Energy Agency has energy partnerships.  Therefore, it is an important vitamin injection for green recovery both in Denmark and in our partner countries that we can help to also mobilize capital,” says Kristoffer Böttzauw.

Collaboration creates synergy

The Danish Energy Agency drives a number of bilateral energy country partnerships in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with the involvement of e.g., the Danish TSO, Energinet. Overall, the purpose is to exchange experiences to support a green, cost-efficient, and climate-friendly transformation of the energy sector. This happens through 16 government-to-government collaborations with relevant authorities responsible for the energy sector and other relevant public and private actors. The country collaborations are based on Denmark’s experience with green transition and energy efficiency through 40 years of transformation.

IFU is a self-owned government fund that offers advice and venture capital to companies that want to do business in emerging and developing countries. IFU has been allocated DKK 1 billion through Denmark’s Green Future Fund. IFU has solid experience with investments in the energy sector and has, among other things, helped to finance more than 1,150 megawatts of solar and wind energy in a number of developing countries. The new collaboration will contribute to strengthening IFU’s knowledge of new project opportunities that can include Danish exporters of energy technology, contribute to the Danish Energy Agency’s insight into good framework conditions and tender models from the financial sector, just as the two organizations can host joint events with e.g., local authorities.

Ten selected countries

The new partnership includes ten selected countries made up of Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, China, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam. The ten countries are currently covered by the Danish Energy Agency’s regulatory co-operation, which is run in close co-operation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with the involvement of, among others, the Danish TSO Energinet, and is also covered by IFU’s investment mandate.

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