About episode
The climate transition we’re living through brings so many opportunities to rethink our infrastructure that it could easily be the entire focus of this podcast week after week. Today’s episode focuses on a handful of those opportunities: converting waste into valuable upcycled materials, renewable energy infrastructure, biomass, biofuels and more.
We’re joined by Ben Hubbard, CEO of Nexus PMG, a company that advises and develops a wide range of infrastructure projects. They’re a fascinating company, and as you’ll hear, they’re engineering sustainable solutions for everything from wood pellets to solar farms to dog food. They just received a $50m investment to accelerate their growth, and leading that round was another fascinating company Greenbacker Capital Management. Greenbacker is not just an investor but also owns and operates a portfolio of solar plants, wind farms, and battery storage systems. Greenbacker Principal Quinn Pasloske joins us as well for a conversation that sheds a lot of light on the opportunity to invest in the infrastructure we need to reduce emissions, eliminate waste and more. Enjoy.
In today’s episode, we cover:
- [3:26] Ben’s background & role at Nexus PMG
- [4:30] Quinn’s background & role at Greenbacker
- [6:35] Greenbacker’s origins & unique market approach
- [8:04] Moving from fossil fuel projects to sustainability projects
- [9:43] Examples of Nexus PMG’s projects
- [14:13] Nexus PMG’s clients, investors & other groups
- [16:02] Greenbacker’s investment in Nexus & the opportunity
- [19:07] Greenbacker as a strategic investor
- [20:33] What the $50M equity round will allow Nexus PMG to do
- [23:31] The opportunity around biomass for sustainable aviation fuel
- [27:08] The concerns around sequestration approaches
- [31:12] Other exciting investment spaces
- [36:26] The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, IRA & what else needs to happen from a policy perspective
- [40:46] What else will it take to scale low carbon infrastructure projects to meet emission reduction targets
Ben’s background & role at Nexus PMG
Ben was trained to be an engineer. His initial decade in the workforce was dedicated to contributing to prominent domestic and international infrastructure mega projects for the globally renowned engineering construction firm, Fluer. He found himself working in exceedingly remote regions like the South Gobi Desert in Mongolia and the outer deserts of Saudi Arabia. These experiences provided invaluable on-site project management expertise, leading him and his fellow pioneers to establish Nexus PMG in 2013.
Nexus PMG is an amalgamation of a business development company, an incubator, and an investment firm, all unified under a single roof. Their exclusive focus lies in the realms of green molecules and circular economy-driven low-carbon infrastructure assets. These encompass various ventures, including renewable natural gas, sustainable aviation fuels, and green hydrogen, among others.
Quinn’s background & role at Greenbacker
Quinn embarked on his career at NRG, an independent power producer headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey. Over the course of approximately four years there, he developed a profound understanding of the generation and utilization of environmentally-friendly electricity within the broader electrical grid context. This experience provided him with comprehensive insights into the entire grid ecosystem, spanning from electricity production to consumption.
Subsequently, Quinn transitioned to Nomura, where he played a pivotal role in establishing the infrastructure and power finance team within the investment bank. Notably, he was instrumental in expanding their direct lending practice in the realm of renewable structured products, amassing a substantial portfolio valued at around $1.5 billion over a four-year period.
Following his tenure at Nomura, Quinn took on the role of the first employee and second member of the growth equity team at Greenbacker. Notably, Greenbacker, traditionally known as an asset owner and operator, introduced a fresh strategy called Greenbacker Development Opportunities in mid-2020. Quinn’s appointment at the start of 2021 was specifically aimed at accelerating the expansion of this platform.
The Greenbacker Development Opportunities platform specializes in investments in developers and companies dedicated to expediting the energy transition. In the past three years, this strategy has grown to oversee approximately $300 million in assets and has invested in roughly 15 portfolio companies, including Nexus. Their investment in Nexus holds particular significance as it marks their first foray beyond their conventional investments in green electricity generation, distribution, and management, extending into the green molecule sector. This shift was driven by Nexus’s expertise in the services business, offering deep industry knowledge and opening the door for future collaborations in the green molecule space.
Resources Mentioned
Connect with Ben Hubbard & Quinn Pasloske
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