Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast The Infrastructure Investor Podcast

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Olivia Wassenaar, head of Apollo’s infrastructure group.

Apollo has been investing in the asset class for a long time, but it only raised its first infrastructure fund in 2018. Wassenaar talks us through the evolution of the firm's infrastructure business and its distinctive deal-first philosophy, which enables Apollo to pursue opportunities throughout the asset class and invest flexibly across the capital stack.

We also discuss how Apollo thinks about portfolio construction given its opportunistic approach to investing, its collaborative "no walls" culture, the big themes that are catching its attention in infrastructure, investing in a more volatile world, and much more.

This episode is sponsored by IFM Investors and Solas Capital

Infrastructure has never been more popular with investors, with record-setting fundraising numbers last year. But as the asset class grows, its definition keeps getting stretched, creating both opportunities and challenges.

Some of the strongest opportunities are areas where banks are largely absent, such as energy-as-a-service models that decarbonise buildings and industry. Europe's energy security crises and incoming regulation are turning building decarbonisation from an option into an obligation. And with insurers chasing investment-grade, long-dated cashflows and pension funds seeking higher yield, demand is durable.

In this episode, IFM Investors’ head of debt investments David Cooper and Solas Capital CEO and co-founder Sebastian Carneiro discuss how to stay disciplined, why you don't need to move down the capital structure to find returns, and how AI is starting to change both how deals are done and how assets are run.

In this episode of the podcast, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Marion Calcine, chief investment officer at Ardian Infrastructure.

We’ve been hearing a lot about investors’ newfound interest in Europe. Ardian raised one of the largest-ever Europe-focused funds last year, so we spend a good chunk of our discussion dissecting the European investment opportunity, what is attracting LPs to it and how the assets on offer differ from the North American market.

Given Calcine's role as CIO, we also delve into portfolio construction, what Ardian sees as essential infrastructure, why it feels comfortable factoring more growth into its business plans these days, and the role of technology in portfolio management.

Finally, we touch on AI infrastructure, how Ardian is approaching this huge investment opportunity, its thoughts on AI sovereignty and much more.

This episode is sponsored by Fengate Asset Management and Ridgewood Infrastructure

Mid‑market infrastructure has quietly become one of the sector’s strongest performers, generating a 10‑year median net return of 12.3 percent and emerging as a melting pot for themes ranging from the energy transition to digital infrastructure.

In this episode, Fengate Asset Management managing director Mac Bell and Ridgewood Infrastructure partner Sam Lissner unpack why the mid‑market continues to outperform, even as fundraising slows and macro uncertainty persists.

They explain how founder‑owned businesses, operational intensity and disciplined leverage can create a competitive advantage; where value creation is strongest across data centres, US water utilities and transportation assets; and why build‑to‑core and optimise‑to‑core strategies remain central to generating predictable, core‑ready cashflows. With political winds shifting and demand for power, logistics and essential services rising, Bell and Lissner outline how mid‑market investors are navigating the cycle and why differentiated exposures can still attract LP capital.

In this episode, Bruno Alves, Infrastructure Investor’s editor-in-chief, sits down with Americas editor Zak Bentley.

Together, they examine one of infrastructure’s fastest-growing areas: secondaries. The conversation focuses on the rise of continuation vehicles and GP-led transactions, which have evolved from a niche liquidity solution into an ever-more mainstream portfolio management tool. As infrastructure funds age and high-quality assets remain attractive for longer, managers and investors are increasingly turning to CVs to extend ownership and unlock additional growth opportunities.

The discussion explores why investor perceptions of CVs have shifted significantly in recent years, with many LPs now viewing them as a way to retain exposure to top-performing assets rather than simply facilitate exits. The conversation also focuses on how surging demand for digital infrastructure, particularly data centres and AI-related assets, is helping drive activity in the secondaries market.

From the growing sophistication of LPs to landmark transactions such as EQT's use of EdgeConneX as a platform for continued growth, this episode offers insights into how CVs are reshaping infrastructure investing.

This episode is sponsored by Taaleri Energia and Capalo AI

Battery storage is becoming a core pillar of European energy infrastructure. Capacity is expected to double by 2030 and grow eightfold by 2040. And while only 2 percent of solar today is co-located with storage, that should rise to 50 percent by the mid-2030s.

Unlike wind and solar, which earn less as markets grow more volatile, batteries earn more, making them a natural hedge within renewable-heavy portfolios and a stabiliser of fund-level returns. With multiple routes to revenue, success demands granular local market knowledge, precise renewables forecasting, and adaptive trading algorithms with tight feedback loops. That complexity only increases when batteries are co-located with wind and solar assets.

In this episode, Taaleri Energia investment director, battery storage, Ville Rimali and Capalo AI CEO Henri Taskinen unpack the investment case and operational demands of the asset class, where to find the strongest opportunities, and explain why it is so rapidly overtaking pumped hydro.

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Critical Load: Inside the Data Centre Boom lifts the lid on one of the hottest and most contested sectors in private markets. Combining insight from major investors, operators, legal and consulting experts and PEI Group’s own research team, we go inside (literally) to explore the key themes driving growth in the sector.

In this final episode of the four-part podcast miniseries, we dig into the hard numbers on investment performance and examine the sector’s future trajectory, with trends to watch including the AI shift, bridging power solutions and speculative but real early moves into the “final frontier”.

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Critical Load: Inside the Data Centre Boom lifts the lid on one of the hottest and most contested sectors in private markets. Combining insight from major investors, operators, legal and consulting experts and PEI Group’s own research team, we go inside (literally) to explore the key themes driving growth in the sector.

In this third episode of the four-part podcast miniseries, we confront the growing public and media narrative that data centres are driving up household electricity bills and we investigate how – and whether – the record is being set straight. We also look at how the industry is addressing environmental concerns on multiple fronts. A proactive approach to engagement and education is required if operators want to maintain their social licence to operate.

Want to access all four episodes now? Register for free at this link.

Critical Load: Inside the Data Centre Boom lifts the lid on one of the hottest and most contested sectors in private markets. Combining insight from major investors, operators, legal and consulting experts and PEI Group’s own research team, we go inside (literally) to explore the key themes driving growth in the sector.

In this second episode of the four-part podcast miniseries, we look at the importance of location as well as power and the search for capacity. While power may be the key factor in “land, power and people”, the type of power also matters; reliability is paramount. That quest for power has led to a rise of secondary locations and has brought political consequences.

Want to access all four episodes now? Register for free at this link.

Critical Load: Inside the Data Centre Boom lifts the lid on one of the hottest and most contested sectors in private markets. Combining insight from major investors, operators, legal and consulting experts and PEI Group’s own research team, we go inside (literally) to explore the key themes driving growth in the sector.

In this first episode of the four-part podcast miniseries, we go behind the scenes of Infrastructure Investor Network’s Global Summit, set the stage with an explanation of what these facilities are, establish the scale of the data centre boom, and get to grips with some staggering investment statistics.

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Jan Vesely, a partner at EQT and one of the leaders of its new AI infrastructure strategy.

EQT is one of the many blue-chip infrastructure managers to launch a dedicated AI infrastructure strategy, but it’s done something different: it launched an open-ended strategy anchored by EdgeConneX, its global data centre platform, which it’s owned for six years, and formed over $9 billion of capital for in the space of three months.

In our discussion, Vesely explains why EQT doubled down on EdgeConneX as the foundation of its AI strategy; why the Swedish manager is a big believer in grid flexibility, and not just for data centres; its willingness to go fully behind the meter for the long term; how to manage counterparty risk, particularly for AI-native customers; and much more.

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Andrea Echberg, global head of Pantheon’s infrastructure team.

Echberg is a veteran of the infrastructure secondaries market, and the discussion traces the evolution of secondaries from a niche strategy to a core part of institutional portfolios. It also explores the impact of higher interest rates and liquidity constraints on deal activity on the sector, why investor appetite for infrastructure secondaries continues to grow, and how pricing, fundraising and competition are shaping the market.

The discussion also touches on what Echberg calls “the good, the bad and the ugly” of continuation vehicles; the opportunities created by long-term themes like digital infrastructure and the energy transition; non-GP sources of assets; and what the next phase of growth could look like as the market becomes increasingly institutionalised.

In this episode, Bruno Alves, Infrastructure Investor’s editor-in-chief, sits down with Americas editor Zak Bentley.

They start with the latest Infrastructure Investor 100 ranking of the world’s largest managers, and analyse what it tells us about the evolving shape of the global infrastructure market. With a total of $1.2 trillion raised over the last five years, the numbers point to a strong recovery – but also highlight just how concentrated the industry has become, with a handful of large-cap managers commanding the lion’s share of capital.

They also unpack our latest quarterly data on fund performance, highlighting the dispersion between top- and bottom-quartile funds that challenges infrastructure’s reputation as a consistently defensive asset class.

Finally, they touch on how strategies are evolving to reflect the digital capex supercycle we find ourselves in.

In this special episode based on a keynote interview on 25 March at our Global Summit in Berlin – editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Marc Ganzi, chief executive of DigitalBridge.

The discussion touched on concerns about AI data‑centre obsolescence, with Ganzi comparing GPU refresh cycles to radio upgrades on cell towers. He also talked through the huge arbitrage opportunity for operators that control their own power, stressed the importance of tight contract discipline, and highlighted the hidden risks many new entrants tend to overlook.

Finally, Ganzi looked ahead to the next wave of demand, lifting the curtain on robotics and the rise of AI factories, outlining they will require another 500GW of compute over the next 10-15 years.

In this special episode – based on a keynote interview done on 24 March at our Global Summit in Berlin – editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Sean Klimczak, Blackstone’s global head of infrastructure.

As the world’s largest investor in data centres, a significant part of the discussion centred on how Blackstone is investing in the sector. Highlights included Klimczak’s call on the industry to move beyond a “do no harm” standard and add net benefits to the communities where data centres are built. He also spoke about how the data centre market will internationalise in 2026-27, with a particular focus on Asia-Pacific as a development hotspot.

Other talking points included Blackstone's role as a major investor in US utilities at a time of surging power demand; the risks of what Klimczack termed the “private equity-ification” of infrastructure, as the asset class’s boundaries expand; and why Europe is “for sale” and seen by Blackstone as a tremendous opportunity.

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Sadek Wahba, founder, chairman and managing partner of I Squared Capital.

Sadek returns to the podcast to tackle a broad range of subjects, including I Squared’s cautious approach to investing in the AI infrastructure boom, why he believes the markets are underestimating the risks and impacts of the Iran war, the role of energy security, resilience in infrastructure investing, the growing role of private wealth in infrastructure, and much more.

Infrastructure Investor’s Global Summit, our flagship gathering in Berlin, attracted around 3,500 members this March for a week of networking and agenda-setting discussions, where the digital revolution, energy transition and a wealth of other topics were analysed, parsed and dissected by some of the most significant players in the industry.

In this episode, PEI Group's head of special projects, real assets, James Linacre picks out key insights with senior members of Infrastructure Investor’s editorial team, including editor-in-chief Bruno Alves, deputy editor Kalliope Gourntis, Infrastructure Investor Deals editor Nathalie Tidman and PEI Group APAC editor Daniel Kemp.

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Niall Mills, global head of Igneo Infrastructure Partners.

Igneo has been investing in the mid-market since 1994 and is one of the first managers to feature on the podcast with a full fund realisation behind them. We spend a good part of our discussion dissecting the lessons learned from exiting the 2009-vintage European Diversified Infrastructure Fund I, including why there’s value in a good auction process and the reasons behind Igneo’s decision to do quarterly valuations for their LPs.

The discussion also touches on the mid-market, including how managers in the space can capitalise on the booming digital infrastructure sector, and Igneo’s steadfast adherence to core/core-plus at a time when many managers are climbing up the risk curve.

This episode is sponsored by Nuveen Infrastructure and Quinbrook

The energy transition is one of the most prominent mega-trends driving investment in infrastructure today. Even as the current US administration is pushing back on the country’s net-zero commitments and scaling back federal incentives, other regions continue to support the decarbonisation agenda, attracting some of the largest players in private infrastructure.

In 2025, China alone added more than 430GW of new wind and solar capacity, not far off the 585GW global additions posted in 2024, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). And more than half of all new vehicle sales in China last year were electric, showcasing the country’s burgeoning green credentials.

In this episode of The Infrastructure Investor Podcast, Joost Bergsma, global head of clean energy at Nuveen Infrastructure, and David Scaysbrook, co-founder and managing partner at Quinbrook, discuss the many factors driving appetite for the energy transition despite the pockets of geopolitical hostility. While policy reversal might make the headlines, both still see plenty of exciting opportunities to fund the net-zero transition.

This episode is sponsored by Ridgewood Infrastructure and I Square Capital

At the start of 2026, infrastructure investors in the United States benefit from numerous tailwinds. Electricity demand is rising at the fastest rate in decades, industrial reshoring is gathering momentum, and the artificial intelligence revolution is continuing to accelerate.

While many of the fundamentals are positive, infrastructure managers must navigate a complex environment in the US. Abrupt policy changes, alongside macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility, mean the path to success is far from straightforward.

In this episode of The Infrastructure Investor Podcast, Ross Posner, managing partner at Ridgewood Infrastructure, and Gautam Bhandari, managing partner at I Squared Capital, discuss how mid-market managers can be best placed to deliver higher returns and secure favourable exits. Although their strategies differ, they both see plentiful opportunities as the US infrastructure market continues to grow and mature in the years ahead.

This episode is sponsored by Brookfield

The infrastructure asset class is entering a defining moment. As energy transition pressures, geopolitics and capital intensity reshape the market, assets such as power networks and digital infrastructure are becoming central to economic competitiveness, rather than simply defensive investments.

Artificial intelligence is accelerating this shift. Beyond the hype, AI’s growth depends on vast amounts of physical infrastructure – from power generation and transmission to advanced data centres and computers. Meeting that demand is pulling infrastructure managers into a global race alongside hyperscalers and governments, creating one of the decade’s most significant investment opportunities.

This podcast is part of PEI Group's Private Markets 2030 programme exploring how private markets are evolving through the second half of the decade. In this programme, we unpack how managers can adapt, attract capital and deliver performance in an increasingly complex market.

Joining us are two guests from Brookfield: Stewart Upson, co-president of Brookfield’s infrastructure group, and Udhay Mathialagan, a managing partner in the infrastructure group and CEO of Brookfield’s global data centre practice. They discuss the opportunities and risks for managers delivering the supporting infrastructure around AI and look at how investors are partnering with governments, hyperscalers and AI developers.

Read more insights on the infrastructure AI journey from Brookfield’s Stewart Upson here.

Editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Americas editor Zak Bentley to provide a holistic view across the infrastructure fundraising market, taking in closed-end and open-end fundraising.

According to Infrastructure Investor data, $289 billion was raised for closed-end structures in 2025, making it the largest-ever year for the asset class. Data from LP consultancy bfinance similarly suggests that 2025 is set to be the best fundraising year for open-end funds since 2022.

Our discussion focuses on the similarities between closed and open-end fundraising – both highly concentrated markets; dissects the impact on strategies of a lasting shift to a two-year-plus fundraising timeline; explores why elevated redemptions are not yet a concern for open-end vehicles; and much more.

In this year's last episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Doug Kimmelman, founder and executive chairman of Energy Capital Partners.

Today's discussion focuses on the US electricity market, which is experiencing a "shining moment" driven by unprecedented demand growth after 30 years of stagnation. Key drivers include the massive power needs of artificial intelligence and data centres, along with LNG exports, the onshoring of manufacturing, and the expansion of electric vehicles and crypto mining. This surging demand - which could require as much as 400GW of new capacity, including replacements for retiring coal and nuclear plants - is rapidly transforming the sector.

With that in mind, we discuss how the market is prioritising slowing the retirement of existing generation, brownfield expansions, and fast-to-deploy solar and storage, while the reliance on natural gas increases despite turbine bottlenecks. We also explore how the presence of hyperscalers with strong balance sheets is reshaping the contracting environment, leading to longer-tenure, highly financeable power purchase agreements.

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Waldemar Szlezak, KKR’s global head of digital infrastructure.

In a wide-ranging discussion, they address whether there's a bubble forming around AI infrastructure and why parts of the market are overheating during one of the fastest capex cycles in tech history. They then explore the lifespan of data centre infrastructure compared to the rapid obsolescence of the GPUs that power it, touch on the industry's “coordination tax”, examine KKR's molecule to the rack strategy, and much more.

We're going to be talking about digital infrastructure a lot at the Infrastructure Investor Global Summit, taking place in Berlin from the 24th to the 27th of March 2026. We have an early bird deadline offer expiring on the 12th of December, which you should definitely consider. So don't miss your chance to lock in discounted registration and join over 3,000 infrastructure decision makers – including 1,000 LPs from 50 plus countries – at the iconic STATION Berlin.

In this episode, Daniel Kemp, APAC editor, private markets, for PEI Group and APAC real assets reporter Tom Taylor reflect on our recent Infrastructure Investor Network Australia Forum, in Melbourne, and other Asia-Pacific events held this year.

The discussion covers a wide range of topics, including how geopolitics is shaping investment decisions across the region; AI and digital infrastructure’s thematic dominance, with massive demand for data centres driving investment not only in developing markets but also in Southeast Asia; the headwinds Australia is facing, with foreign investor frustration over new tax rules, and renewables stagnation; the maturation of Japan’s investor base, with LPs starting to make more direct fund commitments; the importance of relationship-driven capital, and much more.

In this episode, Infrastructure Investor editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Americas editor Zak Bentley to talk about the record fundraising year the asset class is having for unlisted, closed-end structures.

With $200 billion raised during the first nine months of the year – and a further $30 billion added to that since we published our fundraising report – 2025 has handily surpassed the heady years of 2021-22. What’s more, with one quarter to go, expect fundraising to climb to hitherto unimaginable heights.

Our discussion, then, hinges on how we got to this extraordinary moment for the asset class, what’s behind the headline figures, the continuing importance of time on the road in shaping the market, what fundraising in future years could look like, LP appetite and more.

This episode is sponsored by Fengate Asset Management and Arcus Infrastructure Partners

As a backlash against ESG gathers strength, particularly in the United States, it might be reasonable to assume that infrastructure managers are quietly retreating from their sustainability commitments.

While it is true that some managers are adjusting their language in how they talk about ESG and sustainability, we find that others are still eager to emphasise their importance to the asset class.

In this episode, Della Wang, director for responsible investment at Fengate Asset Management, and Neil Krawitz, partner and head of ESG and asset management at Arcus Infrastructure Partners, discuss how managers need to take a long-term view when it comes to sustainability. They agree that a key focus now needs to be on adaptation, as climate change forces managers to confront the reality of more frequent and extreme weather events.

This episode is sponsored by Antin Infrastructure Partners

The infrastructure market is constantly evolving, with technological advancements, environmental concerns and shifting economic and demographic trends bringing significant changes to the transport sector. So staying on top of a series of mega-trends – such as decarbonisation and digitalisation – can unearth exciting investment opportunities.

This episode focuses on key trends in the space and how investors can take advantage of them. Angelika Schöchlin, managing partner at Antin Infrastructure Partners, and Simon Soder, senior partner and head of the firm’s London office, cover everything from safety management infrastructure and high-speed rail to salmon farming, underlining the dynamic set opportunities within the transport sector.

In this episode, Infrastructure Investor editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Sikander Rashid, global head of AI Infrastructure at Brookfield Asset Management.

Brookfield is the largest manager in the world, according to our Infrastructure Investor 100 ranking. It also bills itself as the world’s “largest digital infrastructure investor – with more than $100 billion invested to date – and the world’s largest private capital investor in clean energy”. Both are handy as it launches its new AI infrastructure strategy.

Unsurprisingly, we spend a lot of time talking about how that strategy will work, and why Brookfield decided to create it. A highlight of our conversation is how Brookfield intends to bring down the cost of capital for compute – via GPU-as-a-service, for example – and whether those investments will check the right infrastructure investment boxes. We also touch on the growing investment opportunity in stabilised data centres, digital sovereignty and much more.

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Americas editor Zak Bentley to talk about the fundraising performance of the asset class during the first half of the year.

With more than $134 billion raised for unlisted, closed-end funds, H1 2025 is already better than the whole of 2024. Our discussion delves into how solid the fundraising recovery is, the importance of the mega-funds, how metrics like time on the road have evolved, what fundraising for 2026 could look like, LP appetite, and much more.

In this episode, Infrastructure Investor editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Stonepeak chairman, CEO and co-founder Michael Dorrell.

Stonepeak is the seventh-largest manager in the world, according to our Infrastructure Investor 100 ranking, and Dorrell is a well-known industry veteran. So perhaps unsurprisingly, a large portion of our discussion focused on how the asset class has been evolving.

For example, how strong are the moats of different types of infrastructure assets, and what’s the next best thing if they don’t have a strong moat? Why does Dorrell feel that a scarcity of power actually improved the moats and the longevity of contracts in the data centre sector? How is he feeling about the health of the US renewables sector? What thresholds had to be crossed for Stonepeak, a predominantly North America-focused investor, to branch out into other geographies? And much more.

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Madeleine Farman, editor of affiliate title Secondaries Investor and host of the Second Thoughts Podcast, as well as Americas editor Zak Bentley to talk about the infrastructure secondaries market.

The discussion tracks the evolution of the burgeoning infrastructure secondaries market, the asset class’s best-in-class pricing compared to other private asset classes, how LP-led deals rule by volume but GP-led transactions end up being the most sizeable, the outsized role of continuation funds, the promise of the nascent buyer-led secondaries opportunity, and much more.

Editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Actis chairman and senior partner Torbjorn Caesar.

In a wide-ranging discussion with the growth markets specialist, Caesar argues that perception of risk (versus real risk) is still the main impediment to channeling more infrastructure capital into these markets. He also explains why investors should think of growth markets as “most markets”, how strong demand for critical infrastructure offers the strongest risk mitigation, which markets offer the best opportunities, and much more.

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Partners Group’s head of infrastructure, Esther Peiner.

The discussion covers a broad range of topics, including the recent Iberian blackout and the importance of resilience, how to invest through the current volatility, why managers have to think of a world where LPs need more regular access to liquidity, how persistent inflation could threaten the asset class's diversification benefits, and much more.

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Nathalie Tidman, editor of Infrastructure Investor Deals, our new transactions-focused affiliate title launched in January, and Americas editor Zak Bentley, to talk about the deal landscape.

The discussion delves into the slow pace of European M&A and why it predates current market volatility, why LPs are shying away from platforms dominated by early-stage pipelines, opportunities in the transport and energy-from-waste sectors, and the rise in infrastructure-adjacent opportunities.

Infrastructure Investor editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Americas editor Zak Bentley to discuss their main takeaways from the Infrastructure Investor Network’s Global Summit, recently held in Berlin, that featured more than 3,000 members, including 800-plus LPs.

The discussion covers artificial intelligence, investors’ craving for certainty in the midst of geopolitical upheaval, the double-edged sword of regulation, LP appetite for mid-market products, direct investing and much more.

Infrastructure Investor Network members feeling the need to connect further should keep our upcoming Investor Forum in mind. Taking place in London 9-10 September, it will gather 300-plus industry leaders, including more than 150 LPs. Find out more here.

This episode is sponsored by Edmond de Rothschild and Palistar Capital

Digital infrastructure is developing rapidly, turbocharged first by the coronavirus pandemic and now by advances in artificial intelligence, which have turned data centres into arguably the hottest investment in infrastructure at the moment. The sector also includes fibre and towers, both of which are also attracting strong investor interest.

This episode of The Infrastructure Investor Podcast focuses on the growth of – and opportunities within – digital infrastructure’s three key subsectors. Jean-Francis Dusch, global head of infrastructure and structured finance at EdR, and Josh Oboler, investment partner at Palistar Capital, explore how AI is transforming the data centre landscape, where to find the best opportunities in fibre, and why towers continue to make such a good investment.

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Blackstone global head of infrastructure Sean Klimczak.

Infrastructure was Blackstone’s best-performing asset class in 2024, generating a gross return of 21 percent, according to the firm’s Q4 results. Blackstone is also one of the few industry titans fully committed to investing in the asset class through an open-ended strategy.

Unsurprisingly, a big part of our conversation focuses on what’s underpinning that strong performance – including the three pillars that make a “classic Blackstone infrastructure deal”, as Klimczak put it – as well as Blackstone’s blockbuster acquisition of pan-Asian data centre business AirTrunk, why Klimczak continues to be bullish on the AI infrastructure opportunity, the enduring appeal of transportation, and the advantages of building a portfolio within an open-ended framework.

As infrastructure changes and evolves as an asset class, we often discuss whether it’s become riskier. But what does "risker" actually mean?

In this episode, editor-in-chief Bruno Alves, Americas editor Zak Bentley and Anne-Louise Stranne Petersen, senior reporter – energy transition, debate what asset class characteristics are falling by the wayside, which new risks investors need to be aware of these days – particularly in the burgeoning energy transition arena – and whether a riskier asset class is still something most people would call infrastructure.

Editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Petya Nikolova, deputy CIO and head of infrastructure at the Office of the New York City Comptroller’s Bureau of Asset Management. The Bureau oversees the investments of the five New York City retirement systems, which have a collective $280 billion of assets under management, with $8.4 billion invested in infrastructure as of December 2024.

Nikolova has led the infrastructure programme since inception and has now had the opportunity to see it perform in an inflationary environment. That performance has confirmed the asset class’s peerless inflation passthrough capabilities. In a wide-ranging discussion, Nikolova tackles infrastructure’s role as a diversifier in the systems’ portfolios, how to thoughtfully manage exposure to the mega-trends of digital infrastructure and the energy transition, and whether infrastructure as an asset class is climbing up the risk curve.

To hear more of our episodes, head to infrastructureinvestor.com/podcast or you can search and subscribe to The Infrastructure Investor Podcast wherever you like to listen.

This episode is sponsored by Ridgewood Infrastructure and I Squared Capital  

The need for new infrastructure in markets like the United States is immense, and private capital has a big role to play in making it happen. The mid-market may be especially well-positioned to offer that institutional capital a share in the growth potential of the mega-trends shaping the future of global infrastructure. So in this episode, attention turns to this segment of the market.

Gautam Bhandari, co-founder and managing partner of I Squared Capital, and Ross Posner, managing partner of Ridgewood Infrastructure, share their insights on how the mid-market has evolved to date, how well it’s stood up in difficult macroeconomic conditions, where to look for those growth opportunities, and why the sector is primed to benefit from a predicted infra supercycle.

This episode is sponsored by Eurazeo and Actis

Renewable energy is being deployed rapidly around the world, and various green industries are cropping up to take advantage of cleaner and cheaper power. The rollout of renewables is shaping new economic realities, as industries increasingly look to tap into greener sources of power. Many parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa are poised to benefit. Europe, meanwhile, faces a challenge in sustaining its remaining industrial strength as it battles with high power prices.

In this episode, Laurent Chatelin, a partner in the infrastructure investment team at Eurazeo, and James Mittell, director for energy infrastructure at Actis, talk with Ben Payton about the global challenge of providing energy security and affordability. While they both see opportunities and challenges ahead, one thing is clear: for the energy transition, there is no turning back.

Please note that the views and opinions stated on this podcast represent those of the individuals making such remarks and are not necessarily representative of the views and opinions held by their firms.

In this episode, Infrastructure Investor senior editor Bruno Alves, deputy editor Kalliope Gourntis and Americas editor Zak Bentley take a deep dive into the infrastructure fundraising market.

After two years of contracting totals, fundraising for unlisted, closed-end vehicles hit a low point in 2024. With circa $92 billion raised, last year’s tally was the lowest since 2015 – and the first time in nearly a decade that fundraising totals have dipped below $100 billion.

We discuss when the market can expect a recovery in fundraising, the ever-larger amounts of time spent on the road by managers to raise funds, and what a sustainable return to health could look like. Read more: Full year fundraising fully disappoints

This episode is sponsored by Nuveen and Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners

The state of renewable energy is a series of contradictions. On the one hand, solar panels are cheaper, but they may not stay that way with the threat of tariffs from the incoming Trump Administration. Distributed energy and behind-the-meter power generation are promising, but there are persistent structural obstacles, especially around microgrids. Meanwhile, AI projects require more and more energy while so many grids are already struggling to meet current needs.  

So what does this mean for energy investors today? Will the Trump Administration curb progress on renewables in favour of fossil fuels, or will energy demands boost every alternative available? Where are the opportunities worth pursuing and what technologies are living up to their promise?

In this episode, we’ll discuss these questions and more with Don Dimitrievich, the senior managing director and portfolio manager for energy infrastructure credit at Nuveen, and David Scaysbrook, a co-founder and managing partner of Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners.

In this episode, Infrastructure Investor senior editor Bruno Alves sits down with Hadley Peer Marshall, Brookfield Asset Management’s chief financial officer and co-head of infrastructure debt and structured solutions.

Given Brookfield manages some of the asset class’s biggest strategies across core equity, pure-play infrastructure debt and energy transition, scale is a big part of the discussion, which also covers Brookfield’s corporate tie-ups with the likes of Microsoft and Intel, its preconditions for launching new strategies, as well as the opportunity in the ever-expanding infrastructure debt market.

This episode is sponsored by Nuveen and Igneo Infrastructure Partners

With the American electorate recently handing the White House back to Donald Trump, it seems like an opportune time for Infrastructure Investor to unpack what it could all mean for the infrastructure asset class – in particular, the US commitment to renewables and the energy transition. Trump is, after all, the man who previously removed the world’s largest economy from the Paris Climate Accord and has since sounded less than supportive of President Biden’s initiatives to stimulate the economy and create jobs through a series of infra-led federal legislation.

So, is the Inflation Reduction Act in danger of being repealed? Does global capital have cause to be jittery? Or is the case for renewables infrastructure now simply too strong for even a sceptical Trump-led administration to deny.

Helping us to address these questions and concerns are John Ma, a partner and co-head of Igneo Infrastructure Partners’ North America team, and Don Dimitrievich, the senior managing director and portfolio manager for energy infrastructure credit at Nuveen.

In this episode, senior editor Bruno Alves sits down with Verena Lim, CEO of Macquarie Group Asia, co-head of Asia-Pacific for Macquarie Asset Management Infrastructure, and head of investments for the Macquarie Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Fund series.

What follows is a wide-ranging discussion on Asia-Pacific infrastructure investing, taking in accelerating LP interest in the region, how Asia compares to the US and Europe as an investment destination, the need for discipline when investing in diverse markets, perceived versus actual risks, and, of course, Macquarie’s highly profitable exit from pan-Asian data centre business AirTrunk.

In this episode, senior editor Bruno Alves, deputy editor Kalliope Gourntis and Americas editor Zak Bentley look back on how our Infrastructure Investor 100 ranking of the largest infrastructure managers has changed over the past decade, following publication of the latest edition earlier this month.

Comparing the 2024 edition to the 2014 one reveals a plethora of changes, including the ranking’s sevenfold growth, the rise of specialist strategies, the remarkable growth of some of the managers on it, the disappearance of about a third of the managers that used to feature on the ranking, and much more.

Click here to see the full 2024 Infrastructure Investor 100 ranking

In this episode, Infrastructure Investor senior editor Bruno Alves sits down with KKR global head of infrastructure Raj Agrawal.

KKR’s infrastructure unit has been on a remarkable growth trajectory, from being the 17th largest infrastructure manager in the world in 2014 to becoming the third largest in our recently released Infrastructure Investor 100 ranking. During that time, it added to its global core-plus strategy by launching strategies dedicated to core infrastructure, the Asia-Pacific region and, more recently, its infrastructure-adjacent global climate strategy.

Strategy building is thus at the heart of the discussion with Agrawal, as he details the four preconditions that have to be fulfilled before KKR launches a new strategy. He also discusses how the firm navigated high-profile departures, how it ensures team retention, why it eschews sector considerations and takes a risk-based approach to investing in the asset class, and he touches on the opportunity in industrial infrastructure.

In this episode, Infrastructure Investor senior editor Bruno Alves sits down with Sadek Wahba, founder, chairman and managing partner of independent manager I Squared Capital.

Top of the agenda is Wahba’s new book – Build: Investing in America’s Infrastructure – which chronicles the US’s underinvestment in infrastructure, contextualises the historical reasons for the dominance of public sector infrastructure financing, proposes a range of scenarios to increase private sector participation, and much more.

In the discussion, Wahba shares his thoughts on what change could look like for the US infrastructure financing landscape, the political obstacles that stand in the way, the importance of the public sector being able to share on the upside, and, of course, how the outcome of the upcoming US election – including a potential second Trump presidency – could affect the asset class.

To hear more of our episodes, head to infrastructureinvestor.com/podcast or you can search and subscribe to The Infrastructure Investor Podcast wherever you like to listen.