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The former Shell CEO has joined private equity group KKR as a senior advisor on energy transition investments in his first role at the company since stepping down from the oil and gas major.
Ben van Beurden, who started with KKR on a part-time basis in January, is advising the $553 billion asset investment group on its new global climate strategy within its infrastructure investment unit.
The Dutch executive spent 39 years at Shell, including nearly a decade in the top job. He stepped down at the end of 2022. As CEO, he oversaw the $54 billion takeover of BG Group, setting Shell's first climate targets and pushing the FTSE 100 group into new areas such as biofuels, hydrogen and renewable energy.
While traditional energy companies like Shell are focused on changing how energy is provided, KKR could also invest in areas including vehicle electrification, hydrogen consumption and battery systems, which could help change the shape of energy demand, van Beurden told the Financial Times.
“There are quite a few things you can do in this space that are easier and more logical to do with private capital than to do with public capital,” he said. “The more exposure I have to private equity, the more I believe this is a critical piece of the overall societal puzzle that we have to get right.”
KKR has prioritized investments aimed at transforming the global fossil fuel-based economy to one based on cleaner forms of energy, building a significant climate investment operation within its $59 billion asset infrastructure investment unit.
While the New York-based investment group is still raising capital for a new global climate strategy, it has already made $15 billion in energy transition-related investments, including a $750 million investment in London-based Zenobe, an electric vehicle charging network, And a project worth $1. Investing one billion dollars in the American solar energy development company Avantus.
Brandon Freeman, head of North American infrastructure at KKR, said the private equity group was attracted to Van Beurden's track record of steering one of the world's largest energy companies toward more sustainable operations.
“He has been a leader in driving Shell's strategic transformation,” Freeman said. “He has really led Shell's work during his time as CEO in moving it across oil and gas, renewable energy, sustainable aviation and transport.”
In 2017, Van Beurden was the first CEO of a major oil company to set targets for reducing the carbon intensity of the company's products, and has since led a push in areas such as renewable energy generation, acquiring companies including US solar group Savion and Indian renewable energy platform. Spring.
But he has also faced criticism, especially in his native Netherlands, where a court ruled that Shell needed to cut emissions faster. Shell appealed the ruling this month.
