BlackRock announced Thursday it plans to launch a new open-end infrastructure strategy to assist the global energy transition, a spokesman said in an email.
BlackRock's perpetual infrastructure strategy will target institutional investors and seek investments in both energy transition and energy securities, along with digital and community infrastructure and sustainable mobility.
"We believe the intersection of infrastructure and sustainability will be one of the biggest opportunities in alternative investments in the coming years," said Edwin Conway, global head of BlackRock Alternative Investors, in a news release. "At the same time, recent events have sharpened the focus on energy security and further compounded the need for infrastructure investment."
The news release said one significant driving force is the near-term issue of energy security that has arisen from the Russia-Ukraine War.
The manager also cited the need for an estimated $125 trillion of global investments in order to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, which includes the increase of investments to $4 trillion annually from the current estimated level of investment of $1 trillion per year.
Among the assets into which the new strategy will seek to deploy capital are battery storage systems, data centers, and natural gas storage and transport facilities that are adaptable to incorporate hydrogen, according to the news release.
As of March 31, BlackRock's infrastructure assets under management totaled $38 billion worldwide; firmwide, BlackRock had $9.6 trillion in AUM as of that date.
