Northern European specialist growth-equity firm with Norwegian roots, headquartered in Oslo. Its Portuguese chapter ran from 2022 to 2026: up to €25 million invested in Coimbra-based energy-communities pioneer Cleanwatts through its Idun impact fund, realised in February 2026 when a DWS-managed infrastructure fund took full ownership.
Verdane, the Oslo-headquartered growth investor, entered Portugal in 2022 when its Idun impact fund led an equity round of up to €25 million in Cleanwatts, the Coimbra company that builds and operates renewable energy communities — software-managed local solar generation shared among households, businesses and municipalities. The deal made Verdane the reference institutional backer of one of Portugal’s most-watched climate-tech companies through four years of scaling.
The investment was realised on 19 February 2026, when an infrastructure fund managed by Germany’s DWS Group acquired 100% of Cleanwatts, with a plan to deploy approximately €150 million through 2030 to scale Portugal’s renewable energy communities. For Verdane the exit closed a textbook Nordic-capital-in-Portugal cycle: enter early with growth equity, professionalise, and hand over to long-duration infrastructure money.
Nordic growth funds rarely led rounds in Portuguese climate tech before 2022; Verdane’s Cleanwatts journey — entry, scale-up and a clean institutional exit — gives the corridor a completed proof point that Portuguese energy-transition companies can return Nordic capital, not just absorb it.
Fractio helps Nordic companies enter the Portuguese market — from market sizing to first sales, hiring, and legal setup.
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