Partner Interview: Morten

March 13, 2024

Why did you choose to be a VC?

I have spent the majority of my career in the institutional investing world, allocating large scale assets to alternatives and other asset classes. During my 15 years with Skandia, one of the largest pension funds in the Nordics, and especially in my ultimate role as CEO of Asset Management, I used my position to mobilize money in more impactful directions.

The skills and experience I gained there primed the pump, but to have the level of impact I wanted, I needed to move into a model with impact at the core — leading me into VC.

Why did you launch an Article 9 fund?

I tested dual carry models during my time on the University of Oxford’s impact investing programme. Running these models in an academic environment revealed to me the power of a blended capital approach to address interconnected issues such as poverty, gender inequality and climate change.

I also wanted to close financing gaps for impactful companies. I saw an opportunity to combine my financing expertise and desire to move the needle on multiple impact areas by putting the dual carry idea into practice. One of the first people I tested my ideas on was Stefan. Together we started discussing the launch of an Article 9 fund. Over the next years, Stefan, Dörte, Malin and I built upon and perfected the model, culminating in the launch of Climentum Capital.

What makes you a successful impact investor?

We’re a climate focused hard tech fund. This means that our portfolio companies follow a very different growth journey in comparison to software businesses, which is what most VCs have experience with. Our companies often need to start with building physical assets like production lines and factories, so they often experience challenges that are common to young infrastructure companies. My skills within financing, debt structuring and assembling the various components of the capital stack are crucial in guiding our portfolio companies through these challenges, towards success.

Over the longer term, our founders will also require a different sort of funding compared to software businesses. At some point on their journey they most likely need to attract capital from large infrastructure or pension funds, combining equity, debt and other forms of financing in a smart and equity efficient way. I excel at working with and activating this capital, and I understand institutional investors’ mindsets, know their needs and speak their language. My background means I’m able to reach the right people and access crucial financiers for our portfolio companies.

Which founder has inspired you recently?

One of the most daring founders from our portfolio is Ulf, co-founder of Wayout. Wayout’s container-based solution produces clean water from any kind of input water and can be deployed anywhere in the world — including low-income countries and conflict zones. The WaaS (Water-as-a-service) business model makes it highly scalable and Ulf is constantly traveling and hunting for the next big sale.

This is hard, tiring work. Ulf is relentless in his efforts to deploy his game-changing solution across the world. To keep carrying out this work, Ulf and his team need funding, which is where we’ve been able to help. In addition to our own investments I have introduced Wayout to various financier candidates through my contacts in the Nordics, to help the team continue on its mission.

Another impressive founder I work with is Rikke, co-founder of Aegir Insights. Aegir is a bold, technology-driven intelligence company which leverages data science and industry experience to help global renewable players make smarter decisions. Rikke co-founded the company after leaving a secure job at Ørsted, where she would surely have excelled for many years. Instead, she chose to employ her own skills and industry insights to have even more impact at her own company.

Why do you invest in hard tech?

To move the needle on climate change we need scaled hard tech solutions. Software solutions can only do so much to reduce emissions. It’s hard tech that holds the greatest potential for substantial CO2 emissions reductions. At Climentum we’re shifting investors’ focus away from software to hard tech. The world of later stage infrastructure funds already has a lot of players with a lot of capital. We now need a whole ecosystem beneath these large players to feed them with great technological solutions. At Climentum Capital we’re actively supplying these later stage players with our hard tech portfolio companies.