General Development

In April 2026, the fund price recorded an increase of 29.05% and was thus able to perform significantly positively after the start of the Iran war and the generally tense market situation. Please refer to ourfactsheet for full performance details.

Inflation worries grow due to war in the Middle East

The rise in oil prices is fueling new inflation concerns. Hopes of an imminent solution to the conflict in Iran have been dampened. In addition, the announced withdrawal of the United Arab Emirates from the OPEC oil alliance at the end of April 2026 caused further uncertainty on the markets. Since the start of the Iran war at the end of February, the price of oil has risen by more than 50%.

Effects on possible interest rate adjustments by the FED

The development of energy prices is also bringing the US Federal Reserve into focus, which met for its last interest rate meeting under the chairmanship of Jerome Powell. Interest rates remained unchanged, but it was notable that the committee had four votes against interest rate cuts. This limits the scope for future interest rate cuts, even for a possible new head of the central bank. Experts assume that oil prices are likely to remain at a high level in the coming months. This raises the question of whether energy price-driven inflation could force the Fed to raise interest rates.

Rising energy prices trigger a cost pass-through along the entire value chain. As this often occurs with a time lag, the full effect is not likely to be reflected in the inflation data until the summer or fall. How strong the price pressure will be depends largely on whether the situation in the Middle East eases in the short term. However, a rapid easing seems unlikely at present.

Iran’s attack on energy facilities in Qatar in March 2026 marked a turning point in global energy supply and ushered in a new phase of the gas price crisis. Many market participants are once again realizing that dependence on fossil fuels remains a major risk factor. The high prices for diesel and petrol illustrate this. As a result, the issue of energy security is once again taking center stage, which is likely to further increase the strategic importance of renewable energies and energy storage.

Sharp rise in prices of several portfolio stocks in April

After the start of the Iran war, the stock markets initially came under pressure. However, the market is now differentiating more strongly and is specifically evaluating which companies will benefit from the rise in oil and gas prices. Companies from the renewable energy sector are particularly affected by this.

The price-driving effects on transport, logistics and primary products such as steel, aluminum and specialty chemicals are taking a back seat in the medium term to the benefits of using low-cost renewable energies and the associated reduced dependence on fossil fuels. This development has been observed since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and reinforces the perception that such crises act as a catalyst for investments in the clean tech sector.

The trend in April paints a clear picture

Twenty of our portfolio stocks recorded gains in April, while ten posted declines. By far the largest positive contributions came from the hydrogen sector, in particular from ITM Power, Ceres Power, Plug Power, Nel ASA, Ballard Power, Fuelcell Energy, PowerCell Sweden and DynaCert. Further gains came from SMA Solar, Canadian Solar, Electrovaya and Elia Systems.
Enphase Energy, Fluence Energy, JinkoSolar, Enapter and Voltabox accounted for the largest single losses in April.
At the end of April, the equity allocation of our portfolio stood at 94.2%.

Targeted purchases and sales

We took advantage of the strong price increases in SMA Solar, Ceres Power, ITM Power and Plug Power to sell shares. In contrast, we made targeted purchases at very low levels in the following companies: Eos Energy, Canadian Solar, Daqo New Energy, thyssen krupp nucera, QuantumScape, Fluence Energy and PowerCell Sweden.

Corporate Developments

ITM Power

British government takes a stake of around 10 percent in ITM Power

The UK has acquired a stake in hydrogen specialist ITM Power via the state-owned company Great British Energy Group (GBE). GBE invested GBP 40 million (around EUR 46 million) in a private placement in mid-April and will hold 10.4 percent of the voting rights in ITM Power following completion of the transaction.

Funding for new technology generation

At the same time as GBE’s investment, ITM Power announced the receipt of additional funding. The grants amounting to GBP 46.5 million are intended to support the development of production for the next generation of electrolysers. This will increase the company’s liquidity to around GBP 210 million by the end of the year.

CEO Dennis Schulz emphasized that clean energy increasingly contributes to strengthening energy sovereignty and resilience, especially against the backdrop of geopolitical uncertainties. The combination of government involvement and funding represents an important step in further positioning ITM Power within the UK hydrogen economy. The British Energy Minister Ed Miliband also emphasized that the investment reflects the energy policy focus on security of supply and domestic value creation.

Cooperation in the field of synthetic fuels

ITM Power also announced a strategic cooperation with Rheinmetall. The focus is on the Giga-PtX project, in which hydrogen is first produced using electricity and then processed into synthetic fuels. The aim is to establish a Europe-wide network of decentralized production plants for synthetic fuels in the defence sector. Several hundred plants with an electrolysis capacity of up to 50 megawatts each are planned, which can produce around 5,000 to 7,000 tons of e-fuel per year. The collaboration will initially focus on the UK.

Developments in the hydrogen sector

Bright spots in the hydrogen sector

Investor interest in hydrogen has increased noticeably in recent months. The technology is becoming increasingly important, particularly against the backdrop of rising costs for fossil fuels and its contribution to a more decentralized energy supply.

Even if the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy in Germany is slower than expected a few years ago, concrete progress can be seen. The entire value chain is currently being tested at the Bad Lauchstädt energy park in Saxony-Anhalt – from production using electrolysis to storage in a salt cavern and feeding into existing infrastructures. At the same time, a large-scale electrolysis plant with a planned total output of 300 megawatts is being built in Lingen, Lower Saxony, and the first modules are already being put into operation.

The increasing demand is particularly evident in industrial applications. For example, Thyssenkrupp Steel is building a direct reduction plant in Duisburg, which is to be operated entirely with hydrogen in the future. In addition to the steel industry, refineries and ammonia production are currently among the most important customers, as the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research points out.

Hydrogen as a solution to the physical limits of electrification

From a physical point of view, hydrogen is particularly interesting where direct electrification reaches its limits. This applies in particular to high-temperature processes in industry, which require very high and continuous temperatures that are difficult to provide electrically.

Hydrogen also offers advantages in heavy goods transport, shipping and, in the long term, air transport, as high energy densities are required here and battery solutions quickly reach their weight and range limits.

In addition, hydrogen enables the long-term storage of large amounts of energy and can thus serve as a balancing medium for fluctuating renewable energies.

These properties make it a central component in energy systems that rely on high supply security and flexibility.