Aviva Investors is providing partial funding for a major energy centre project being developed for the UK's National Health Service (NHS).
Aviva Investors is providing partial funding for a major energy centre project being developed for the UK's National Health Service (NHS).
Aviva's REaLM Infrastructure Fund is partnering with UK Green Investment Bank (GIB), described as the first bank of its kind in the world, to provide £36 mln (€42 mln) for a new energy innovation centre for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
The centre is designed to deliver substantial financial and carbon emissions savings for the trust and is expected to be one of the largest projects of this type in the UK.
The new energy innovation centre will house a combined heat and power unit, biomass boiler, efficient dual fuel boilers and heat recovery from medical incineration.
Aviva's REaLM Energy Centres Fund is providing some £18 mln for the project, with GIB channelling a similar amount to the scheme via a share of its investment in Aviva's fund.
GIB has committed a total of £50 mln to REaLM Energy Centres Fund. Aviva Investors and GIB intend to provide funding to a range of other energy centres in the future through the two funds.
Ian Berry, fund manager - Infrastructure & Renewable Energy at Aviva Investors, said: 'The development of UK energy centres is a very exciting new area for long-term investors such as pension funds. They can achieve stable, diversified and relatively low risk income streams, while also helping to fund important infrastructure projects that deliver long term savings and sustainability benefits to their clients.
'This is a landmark transaction and demonstrates how private sector know-how and pension fund money can be used alongside government funds to finance innovative infrastructure initiatives, and the ongoing development of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the UK.'
