Carlyle Sees Green Ammonia in Energy Transition’s Next Phase

Alix Steel and David Wethe, Bloomberg News

Transmission towers and power lines near a missile damaged high-voltage electricity sub-station, operated by NPC Ukrenergo, in central Ukraine, on Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Russia's assault on civilian infrastructure has added to the economic devastation caused by Vladimir Putin's invasion, with households and businesses hit by regular power outages. Photographer: Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- The next phase for investing in the energy transition now includes so-called green ammonia, according to Pooja Goyal, chief investment officer for Carlyle Group’s global infrastructure business.

“Investing in renewables alone was probably energy transition 1.0,” Goyal said during an interview with Bloomberg TV at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston on Tuesday. “At this point in time, you really need to widen the aperture to look beyond renewables.”

Capital provided by private-market investors such as Carlyle, which has about $400 billion in assets under management, is best suited to invest in the energy transition, she said. The industry has the potential for a lot of growth but has also historically had an under-invested supply chain, she said.

The firm has already been investing in batteries and electric vehicles as an example of renewables investing.

(Updates with detail on renewables investing in final paragraph.)