Energy Impact Partners

About

Energy Impact Partners (EIP) is a global investment firm founded in 2015 by Hans Kobler, Lindsay Luger, Joshua Feldman, and Michael Donnelly ¹². The firm is headquartered in New York, with offices in San Francisco, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Palm Beach, London, Cologne, and Oslo ¹. EIP manages over $4.5 billion in assets under management across venture, growth, private equity, and credit strategies ¹³.

Kobler, a 25-year veteran of energy and climate technology investing, previously led the energy technology group at GE Equity (General Electric’s venture capital arm) and founded Digital Power Capital, a private equity fund focused on advanced power technologies ²⁴. Co-founder Lindsay Luger spent over 20 years investing in technology companies at Digital Power Capital and Wexford Capital before EIP ². Co-founder Joshua Feldman serves as General Counsel and COO with over 25 years as a corporate transactional attorney, and co-founder Michael Donnelly is a 25-year General Electric veteran who serves as Chief Risk Officer ².

EIP’s distinguishing model is its coalition of over 80 corporate limited partners, including major utilities, industrial companies, and infrastructure owners, who serve as both investors and potential customers for portfolio companies ¹⁵. The firm employs over 100 professionals globally ¹.

The firm has raised capital across multiple fund vehicles:

• Flagship Fund I (2015 vintage): $531M ⁶
• Flagship Fund II (2021): Over $1 billion ⁷⁵
• Flagship Fund III (2025): $1.36 billion ⁸⁹
• Deep Decarbonization Frontier Fund (2022): $485 million, oversubscribed against a $350 million target ¹⁰¹¹
• European Fund (2022): EUR 390 million ¹²
• Elevate Future Fund (2023): $111.9 million, focused on underrepresented founders in clean energy ¹³

EIP’s portfolio has produced 5 unicorns, 5 IPOs, and 32 acquisitions as of 2026 ³. Notable exits include Proterra (electric buses, IPO), ecobee (smart thermostats, acquired), Greenlots (EV charging, acquired by Shell), Urbint (AI for infrastructure, acquired by Itron for $325M in October 2025), and Ring (video doorbells, acquired by Amazon) ¹¹⁴.

Stated Thesis

EIP publicly describes its mission as investing in “the technologies powering the future of energy” and supporting “the conversion of the energy industry towards a decarbonized, decentralized, digitized and electrified future” ¹³.

The firm states that it brings “together brilliant entrepreneurs and some of the world’s most influential corporates to help transform the global economy towards a better future” ¹. Founder Hans Kobler has emphasized a pragmatic, market-driven approach: “Our preference is to find technology companies that make economic sense…and can profitably be the better solution in the market” ⁹.

Kobler has publicly positioned the firm’s investment strategy around five core themes: supply decarbonization, electrification and mobility, tech-enabled infrastructure, reliability and resilience, and intelligent demand management ⁵.

More recently, EIP has emphasized AI-driven energy infrastructure as a major investment theme. Kobler told Axios that power industry investments amid rising demand from AI and data centers create openings for clean tech startups, including companies that can help turn data centers into flexible grid assets ⁸. He stated: “Our utility investors are facing massive [capital expenditure] needs. Anything that mitigates that is a top priority for us to invest in” ⁸.

Managing Partner Sameer Reddy has emphasized patience about the energy transition timeline: “This is still very much an energy transition. For all of the excitement around new technologies, I think there probably needs to be more of an acknowledgment that it’s gonna take time to get there” ¹⁵.

Inferred Thesis

Based on analysis of 137 verified portfolio companies (96 active, 41 exited) from EIP’s portfolio page ¹⁴:

Sector breakdown: - Energy infrastructure and grid technology: approximately 25 of 137 companies (18%), including Form Energy, Heron Power, GridBeyond, GridX, Enchanted Rock, Power Factors, Singularity Energy, ThinkLabs AI, IND Technology, Infravision, AssetCool, instagrid, Powin - Cybersecurity and enterprise software: approximately 18 of 137 companies (13%), including Coro, Corelight, Dragos, Finite State, RangeForce, SCYTHE, Swimlane, XONA, 42Crunch, Stream, VanishID, Noetic, Oort - Electrification and EV infrastructure: approximately 14 of 137 companies (10%), including ev.energy, Flo (AddEnergie), Quilt, myenergi, Greenlots, Volta, Viriciti, ChargerHelp!, Derive, Sibros, Rock Rabbit, Stone Mountain Technologies - Industrial decarbonization and clean molecules: approximately 14 of 137 companies (10%), including Electric Hydrogen, Rondo Energy, Boston Metal, Sublime Systems, Carbon America, Nitricity, Koloma, AtmosZero, Metafuels, Terragia, 6K, Voya Energy - Climate data, ESG, and sustainability software: approximately 12 of 137 companies (9%), including Measurabl, ESG Book, Greenly, Project Canary, Audette, Singularity Energy, Arcadia - Smart building and home technology: approximately 10 of 137 companies (7%), including ecobee, Sense Labs, Quilt, Aeroseal, Bedrock Energy, SmartRent, Hometree, ION Solar, ES Solar, Palmetto - Circular economy and waste: approximately 7 of 137 companies (5%), including Mill, Rheaply, Cyclic Materials, Li-Cycle, Rubicon Technologies, Smallhold, Hippo Harvest - Mobility and transportation: approximately 7 of 137 companies (5%), including HopSkipDrive, Remix, Proterra, Traffic & Mobility Consultants, Site 20/20, Scythe Robotics - Other (IoT, robotics, general enterprise): approximately 30 of 137 companies (22%), including Particle, Grover, Robust.AI, RapidSOS, Marketing Evolution, Sitetracker, and various infrastructure services companies

Stage distribution: EIP invests primarily at Series A and Series B stages through its Flagship funds, with the Frontier Fund targeting earlier-stage (Series A) deep-tech companies. The European Fund targets deals between EUR 10M and EUR 35M ¹². The firm’s growth and PE capabilities allow it to follow on through late-stage rounds. The credit arm provides debt financing to complement equity.

Geographic concentration: Predominantly US-based portfolio companies, with a growing European presence following the 2022 launch of the EUR 390M European Fund. European portfolio companies include Zolar (Germany), HeatTransformers (Netherlands), Grover (Germany), myenergi (UK), Hometree (UK), Oxford Flow (UK), FYLD (UK), and Reverion (Germany) ¹²¹⁴.

Notable patterns: - Heavy cybersecurity allocation relative to stated thesis: Approximately 13% of the portfolio is in cybersecurity and enterprise software, a sector not prominently featured in EIP’s public climate/energy messaging but consistent with the “reliability and resilience” theme and the critical infrastructure protection needs of their utility LP base ¹⁴. - Corporate LP model as differentiation: The 80+ utility and industrial corporate LPs serve as both capital sources and customer pipeline for portfolio companies. Southern Company reports engaging over half of EIP’s portfolio companies in deeper conversations about technology ⁵. This model drives deal flow in niche industrial sectors where domain expertise is required. - Deep-tech hardware tolerance: Unlike many climate-tech investors, EIP actively backs capital-intensive hardware companies (Form Energy iron-air batteries, Electric Hydrogen electrolyzers, Boston Metal electrochemical steel, Sublime Systems low-carbon cement, Zap Energy fusion), supported by the long time horizons and industrial partnerships of their LP base ¹⁰¹⁴. - Co-investor patterns: Frequent co-investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group, Lowercarbon Capital, Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund, and GIC (Singapore sovereign wealth fund) ^10121617.

Portfolio

This table represents a subset of approximately 137 known portfolio companies. The full portfolio is listed on the EIP website ¹⁴.

In Their Own Words

“We just went through a hype cycle of over-enthusiasm fueled by too much desire to do good, and too little foundation in reality.” — Hans Kobler, Founder & Managing Partner, Latitude Media interview, October 2025 ⁹

“When things were good people got too excited, and now interest rates went up, we had unprecedented turmoil, and now it’s really the other direction, almost a culture war against climate.” — Hans Kobler, Latitude Media interview, October 2025 ⁹

“Our utility investors are facing massive [capital expenditure] needs. Anything that mitigates that is a top priority for us to invest in.” — Hans Kobler, Axios interview, September 2025 ⁸

“Using electrolysis to produce clean hydrogen is nothing new. But doing so cost-effectively at industrial scale requires a complete reinvention of the electrolyzer technology stack.” — Shayle Kann, Managing Partner, Frontier, press release on Electric Hydrogen investment, September 2021 ¹⁶

“This is still very much an energy transition. For all of the excitement around new technologies, I think there probably needs to be more of an acknowledgment that it’s gonna take time to get there. Existing technologies are going to have to serve as a bridge maybe longer than I think some folks expect.” — Sameer Reddy, Managing Partner, Flagship, Axios interview, September 2023 ¹⁵

“For founders, it’s really important to know who your end customer is. Oftentimes, climate-tech founders are selling a technology or solution into a big incumbent, and just really understand the way that incumbents buy.” — Sameer Reddy, Managing Partner, Flagship, Axios interview, September 2023 ¹⁵

“This investment is another example of our model at work: backing innovative companies with scalable business models where our utility partner network can make a difference.” — Hans Kobler, press release on Arcadia Series A, June 2017 ¹⁸

What Founders Say

“We’re excited to have Shayle and EIP joining our already amazing investor syndicate. We value all our investors for their insights and experience helping mission-driven companies scale to make a positive impact. EIP’s deep energy and industrial relationships will be invaluable as we actively develop the market for industrial-scale renewable hydrogen.” — Raffi Garabedian, CEO & Co-Founder, Electric Hydrogen, press release, September 2021 ¹⁶

“We are deeply grateful to T. Rowe Price for leading our Series F fundraising round and look forward to collaborating with them as we expand our operations to meet the surging demand for our product. We are also excited to welcome GE Vernova to our growing group of investors and extend our sincere thanks to our long-standing partners, whose continued trust and support have been crucial to our success and growth over the years.” — Mateo Jaramillo, CEO & Co-Founder, Form Energy, press release, October 2024 ¹⁹. (EIP was among the “long-standing partners” referenced, having been an investor since the Frontier Fund’s earliest investments.)

No additional independently sourced founder testimonials found beyond press release quotes. EIP’s corporate LP model is frequently cited as a differentiator by portfolio companies in funding announcements, but dedicated founder reviews on third-party platforms were not identified.

Sources