Quarterly Updates: Q4 2025

Looking back on 2025 and ahead to the new year, our mandate remains the same: disciplined execution and cost‑competitive decarbonization across the industrial economy.

Investors want proof that cleaner production can beat incumbents on price and quality, and that is where we have focused our efforts.

Across the platform, we made significant progress translating plans into steel in the ground: 43 plant builds underway with installed costs ranging from $5 million to $1.1 billion and brought nine new plants online in 2025. Additional highlights include the expansion of Genera’s $340+ million sustainable packaging facility in Tennessee; a full year of commercial operations at Divert’s integrated RNG food‑waste facility; and the commissioning of VAC’s U.S. rare‑earth magnet facility in South Carolina—the first U.S. commercial magnetic plant to begin operations in 25 years.

Delivering this volume of activity in a market where the average plant still runs over budget and behind schedule was a major achievement in 2025.

Q4 reinforced that momentum. Ara Infrastructure acquired Centric Fiber, consistent with our strategy to own resilient, efficient assets that underpin a lower‑carbon economy. Blue Whale Materials expanded its Bartlesville, OK facility to strengthen domestic battery‑materials security. Divert partnered with General Produce to convert wasted food in Northern California into renewable energy. CycleØ commissioned two new plants in Spain, bringing the total number of operational assets to seven. Utility Global signed a partnership agreement with KYOCERA Global to scale manufacturing and accelerate the commercial deployment of its H2Gen® systems.

Our priority for 2026 is straightforward: build what works, scale what’s proven, and keep delivering projects on time and on budget—while delivering strong returns.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support. Together, we will continue accelerating the transition to a more resilient, lower‑carbon industrial economy.

Charles Cherington & Troy Thacker
Managing Partners

New Deal

Ara Infrastructure acquires Centric Fiber

Centric Fiber is a fast-growing fiber-to-the-home platform in North America. Ara completed this transaction in partnership with Centric Fiber’s management team, building on a highly successful previous collaboration that spanned between 2018 and 2021.

Read the press release

Beyond the Last Mile: The fiber market opportunity

Fiber-optic technology is estimated to be up to 90% more energy efficient than traditional cable or coaxial infrastructure, offering a highly scalable solution to the growing carbon footprint of the digital universe. Read Ara’s perspective on the rise of fiber optics, and how we believe fiber stands out as a practical solution due to its substantial energy efficiency gains over legacy systems and ability to deliver future-ready connectivity.

Sign up here to receive resources from Ara Insights directly in your inbox.

Read the white paper

Broadcast Feature

Charles Cherington joined Jill Malandrino on Nasdaq TradeTalks as part of a panel of industry leaders to discuss how private capital is flowing into energy and infrastructure today.

In the interview, Charles shares his perspective on how financing the decarbonization industry has evolved toward pragmatism, with capital increasingly directed to projects that meet real market demand, generate positive cash flow, deliver meaningful emissions reductions, and remain cost‑competitive with conventional assets.

Watch the full video

Featured portfolio news

Blue Whale Materials

Blue Whale Materials, a leader in sustainable lithium-ion battery recycling and critical minerals supply chain development, celebrated a major expansion at its Bartlesville, Oklahoma facility. The expansion will increase annual processing capacity to more than 20,000 tons by Q1 2026, with a four-year expansion plan targeting up to 50,000 tons per year.

To learn more about Blue Whale Materials’ role in building resilient critical mineral supply chains, read the Wall Street Journal article, Salvaging Critical Minerals From Old Laptops and Phones Isn’t So Easy.

Divert

Divert, a circular economy company on a mission to prevent food from being wasted, partnered with General Produce, a leading produce distributor, to transform unsold and non-donatable food into renewable energy and nutrient-rich soil amendment in Northern California.

To learn more about Divert’s approach to innovation and impact, listen to Ryan Begin, Divert CEO & Co-Founder, on Pitching Progress.

Utility Global

Utility Global, a U.S.-based leader in economical decarbonization technology, and KYOCERA Global announced a strategic partnership to scale the manufacturing of its proprietary electrochemical cells and support rapid commercial deployments of H2Gen® systems.

To learn more about Utility’s economic decarbonization at scale, listen to Parker Meeks, President & CEO of Utility Global, on Pitching Progress.

Vacuumschmelze

VAC manufactured the first commercial rare earth magnet in the United States in 25 years, marking a major milestone for domestic clean energy supply chains. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted that the company’s South Carolina rare earth facility helps break China’s long-standing chokehold on this critical market.

To learn why rare earth magnets are essential to the energy transition, read the Bloomberg article, “European Magnet Maker Warns of Rare Earth Crisis Without Action.”

CycleØ

CycleØ commissioned two new biomethane plants to boost renewable gas production in Spain, bringing the total number of operational assets to seven, and demonstrating progress towards its stated goal of building, owning and operating up to 30 biomethane plants nationwide.

To learn more about why CEO Laurence Molke feels that biomethane sits at a unique crossroads, addressing urgent environmental and energy security challenges, read his feature story in Bioenergy Insight, “Up close and personal with Laurence Molke.”