Ara Partners Unveils $725M Energy Decarbonisation Strategy

• Ara Partners launches Ara Energy Decarbonization to reduce emissions from traditional energy assets in North America.
• HF Capital, the Haslam family office, will commit up to $725 million to support Ara’s energy decarbonisation efforts.

Ara Partners, a global private equity and infrastructure firm focused on decarbonising industry, has launched Ara Energy Decarbonization.

Ara Energy Decarbonization is being launched in partnership with the Haslam family through their family office, HF Capital. They built Pilot Company, the largest travel centre and fuel business in North America, and will partner with Ara Partners on this effort. HF Capital will commit up to $725 million to buy, optimise and decarbonise energy businesses and assets across the region.

Shameek Konar will lead the initiative and a team of experienced energy and commodities professionals. Konar has over 25 years of experience and will also serve as a Senior Advisor to Ara Infrastructure. The team will invest in sectors like power generation, merchant biofuels and supply chain operations.

The energy sector is responsible for over 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and demand is growing fast, driven by data centres and AI. Renewable energy faces challenges integrating into the grid and natural gas is filling the gap. Experts predict natural gas demand will peak in the 2040s. To meet global climate goals, there needs to be a big reduction in emissions from traditional energy sources.

“It is an uncomfortable truth that highly pollutive energy sources are going to play an essential role in delivering an energy transition over the next several decades,” said Charles Cherington, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Ara. “We can ignore these staggering carbon emissions, or we can apply our proven methods and financing expertise to decarbonize the conventional energy value chain. With Shameek, his team, and the Haslam Family’s partnership, we gain the expertise needed to integrate substantial climate impact across another hard-to-abate sector without disrupting energy output. This is an important milestone for Ara as we continue to decarbonize the most critical and pollution intensive sectors to advance the global transition to net-zero.”

“Ara has honed a team of seasoned investors, builders, operators and facilitators that is truly unmatched in this industry,” said Shameek Konar, Partner and Head of Ara Energy Decarbonization. “The world’s energy demands are increasing and complex, and renewable power needs time and support for it to fulfill rising global energy demand. Ara’s builder skillset, portfolio network and decarbonization management knowledge is perfectly positioned to attack the carbon-intensive energy sector. This partnership and new strategy will significantly reduce carbon emissions and play a meaningful role in transitioning our economy to a low-carbon future.”

Konar has over 25 years of experience in the energy and commodities sectors. He was previously CEO of Pilot Company, the largest supplier of transportation fuels in North America. During his time as CEO, the company sold over 1.5 billion gallons of renewable fuels in 2022 and developed a national network of fast chargers for electric vehicles (EVs) with General Motors.

Jimmy Haslam, whose family founded Pilot Company said: “We built Pilot from one gas station in 1958 to a company with nearly 800 locations and over $50 billion in revenue. We are happy to work with Shameek and support Ara’s mission to decarbonize the energy industry.”

Ara Partners has been tackling greenhouse gas emissions and waste management across its portfolio since 2017. The firm invests in companies that have emissions reduction potential and financial returns. In 2023 Ara reduced 10.8 million tonnes of CO2 and 424.4 thousand tonnes of waste across its portfolio.

“At Ara, we know what is possible when it comes to decarbonizing the most hard-to-abate and critical sectors,” said Troy Thacker, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Ara. “We have a proven track record of repurposing existing assets that are required for the net-zero economy, and we have the portfolio and network of cutting-edge technologies and services to do this more efficiently, resulting in a serious opportunity to remove millions of tonnes of harmful GHG emissions. This new strategy complements our existing Private Equity and Infrastructure strategies, allowing us to achieve larger-scale climate impact and delivering a clear path to a renewable future.”

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Source: Ara Partners