Project Marble – the creation of a passenger rolling stock platform in Germany by Infracapital and Rock Rail – was chosen by the independent panel of judges to win IJGlobal ESG Awards 2024 in the transport category.

This investment supports Germany’s development of sustainable public transport through the delivery of state-of-the-art, energy efficient fleets.

Transportation constitutes 20% of global emissions and 25% of Europe’s overall emissions. As such, decarbonising the transport sector presents a significant market opportunity which is critical to the delivery of global Net Zero targets.

IJGlobal wrote about the JV creation late last year (2023) identifying that Infracapital’s investment will play an important role in supporting Germany’s rolling stock provision in an expanding market supported by high, underlying demand, and a growing emphasis on decarbonising transport.

Private infrastructure capital is expected to play a key role in supporting rolling stock growth, replacing ageing fleets, and developing the country’s sustainable rail market.

Infracapital has significant expertise of managing transport and rail assets in the UK and this transaction was the fund manager’s third investment in Germany to date. Meanwhile Rock Rail is an established name in this sector.

The submission states: “Rail remains the most environmentally friendly form of motorised transport in terms of carbon emissions per mile. We continue to invest in the transport sector with a focus on decarbonisation, as we seek opportunities in solutions to environmental challenges.

“At the end of 2023, Infracapital Greenfield Partners II acquired Project Marble - a rolling stock platform in Germany. Electrified rolling stock is a key part of Germany’s plan to decarbonise its transport sector and achieve its climate goals.

“According to the Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, electrified rail transport can save up to 80% of CO2 emissions in comparison to diesel-powered trains, offering higher performance, lower operating costs and less noise pollution than conventional trains.

“The fleet has no direct emissions from operation and the use of public transport requires c.1/3 of emissions versus personal vehicle use.

“The first lot will finance a fully electric fleet with a total capacity of c.590 passengers per train. The fleet will deliver an optimised train layout, increased capacity per train and a more efficient and lighter weight fleet (c.25% energy saving in terms of kWh compared to previous models and the materials used ensuring a recycling rate of over 95% at the end of the lifecycle).”

The Infracapital / Rock Rail JV in May (2024) completed its second investment in the German rolling stock market by investing in a 41-strong fleet of new electric trains.