Refrigerant gases supply and lifecycle management provider A-Gas announced today the acquisition of a majority stake in the company by TPG Rise Climate, the $7 billion climate investing strategy of TPG’s global impact investing platform, TPG Rise, from investors including majority owner KKR.

Refrigerants used in products such as air conditioners, fridges and freezers often contain highly impactful greenhouse gases, which can be as much as 2,000 times as powerful than CO2. Solutions to reduce emissions from refrigerants are coming increasingly into focus in the HVAC and refrigeration industries, as companies look to address their climate impact.

Launched in the UK in 1993, Gas-A prevents the release of refrigerant gases into the atmosphere, providing recovery, reclamation, and repurposing processes to capture gases for re-use or destruction. The company has extended its business into vertical markets including on-site Rapid Recovery of refrigerant gas, the safe destruction of legacy gases, and the generation of carbon credits.

A-Gas estimated that its technology abated 8 million metric tonnes of CO2e in 2022.

Joerg Metzner, Business Unit Partner at TPG Rise Climate, said:

“Our investment in A-Gas is a thematic play on the increasing importance of establishing circular economies in critical industries. A-Gas’ highly differentiated gas recovery and reclamation technology closes the loop in the refrigerant gas lifecycle and thereby prevents the common venting of used refrigerant gases into the atmosphere at their end-of-life, which can have a Global Warming Potential that is several thousand times higher than that of emitting CO2.”

KKR acquired a majority stake in A-Gas in 2017. Since the acquisition, A-Gas has extended its global presence through entry into markets including Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy, and substantially increasing its presence in the U.S., and has grown its revenue by an average of 14% annually.

KKR said that it will remain as a significant minority stakeholder in A-Gas, working in collaboration with TPG Rise Climate and the A-Gas leadership team.

A-Gas CEO Jack Govers said:

“We are thrilled to be taking the next step of our sustainability journey, and to be further scaling our Lifecycle Refrigerant Management operations, with the backing of TPG Rise Climate. We have a long history of being at the forefront of refrigerant gas recovery and reclamation, effectively lowering potential emissions to the atmosphere, and this investment from TPG is validation of our growth strategy and the quality of our products and services.”

Mattia Caprioli, Co-Head of European Private Equity at KKR, added:

“A-Gas plays a critical role in the circular economy for refrigerant gases, and in supporting environmental targets to fight climate change and global warming… We believe the addition of TPG Rise Climate’s market expertise, particularly in the US carbon credit market, is a great fit for the future, and we look forward to working alongside Joerg, Jack and their respective teams to continue to build on A-Gas’s unique proposition globally.”