North Sky Investments Receive Global Water Awards
Minneapolis, MN – North Sky Capital (“North Sky”) is pleased to announce that two of its investments in wastewater treatment were honored by the Global Water Awards, highlighting North Sky’s leadership in impact investing.
Within its sustainable infrastructure investment strategy, North Sky’s renewable natural gas (“RNG”) facility at the Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority (“VVWRA”) in Victorville, Calif., was named “Wastewater Project of the Year.” The Victor Valley project, a public-private partnership involving North Sky, Anaergia Services, LLC and VVWRA, converts organic waste and sludge into pipeline quality RNG.
The awards committee said the Victor Valley project “deftly integrates solutions in the water and energy spheres,” adding that “the plant also helps local municipalities comply with California’s stringent waste disposal regulations, which aim to reduce the landfilling of organic waste by 75%.”
The Global Water Awards also named Gradiant, one of North Sky’s impact secondaries portfolio companies, “Desalination Company of the Year.” Gradiant is a leading global solutions provider and developer of cleantech water projects for advanced water and wastewater treatment, including desalination technology. The committee noted that Gradiant “made significant acquisitions in the desalination space which unlocked digital and manufacturing synergies with its existing technologies.”
In addition to its desalination technologies, Gradiant also seeks to reduce the environmental footprint involved in acquiring and utilizing the raw materials needed for manufacturing products. Semiconductor foundries, for instance, typically use 10 million gallons of water per day for chip fabrication, which is then contaminated in the production process. Gradiant’s technologies treat this waste stream to return up to 95% of fresh water.
“We are immensely proud of both of these investments,” said North Sky Capital CEO Scott Barrington. “For 20 years, we have been evangelists for innovations in a variety of industries ranging from electric vehicles to recycling to renewable energy. These awards validate our leadership in RNG and wastewater and offer a glimpse of the myriad ways we are making the world a better place through our investments.”
See North Sky’s 2021 Impact Report for additional details on the Victor Valley Wastewater project (formerly, Project Golden Bear) and the 2023 Impact Report for information about Gradiant.
About North Sky
North Sky Capital is a pioneer in impact investing in the United States. Now in its 24th year, North Sky has deployed more than $1.3 billion across 140+ impact investments on behalf of its various impact funds. The firm has two flagship investment strategies: impact secondaries (private equity) and sustainable infrastructure. Both strategies support positive environmental and social impact while targeting market rate investment returns. North Sky has been an active impact investor since the beginning of the modern era of private markets impact investing in 2005-6. For more information, visit northskycapital.com.
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