Invesco has launched a duo of sustainable thematic ETFs in Europe targeting two specific segments of the clean energy ecosystem: wind energy and the hydrogen economy.

Wind and hydrogen-based energy are considered crucial to achieving a net-zero carbon economy.
The Invesco Wind Energy UCITS ETF has been listed on London Stock Exchange in US dollars (WNDE LN) and pound sterling (WNDI LN), on SIX Swiss Exchange in US dollars (WNDE SW), and on Deutsche Börse Xetra (WDEY GY) and Borsa Italiana (WNDE IM) in euros.
The Invesco Hydrogen Economy UCITS ETF, meanwhile, has similar listings on London Stock Exchange in US dollars (HYDE LN) and pound sterling (HYDN LN), on SIX Swiss Exchange in US dollars (HYDE SW), and on Deutsche Börse Xetra (HYDE GY) and Borsa Italiana (HYDE IM) in euros.
Similar to the $70 million Invesco Global Clean Energy UCITS ETF (GCLE LN), which launched in March 2021 and covers multiple segments of the clean energy ecosystem, the new listings track indices developed by California-based WilderHill, a specialist provider of sustainable indices related to clean energy and clean ocean investment themes.
WilderHill is known for developing some of the first benchmarks in the alternative energy segment. Its flagship index, the North America-focused WilderHill Clean Energy Index, underlies the $1.2 billion Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF (PBW US) in the US.
Methodology
The WilderHill Wind Energy Index comprises companies worldwide that are focused on improving wind turbines and blades, providing materials used in wind energy, modernizing the energy grid, facilitating greater wind energy deployment, or expanding its use. Both onshore and offshore wind energy firms are eligible for inclusion.
The WilderHill Hydrogen Economy Index, meanwhile, comprises companies involved in hydrogen activities which include improvements in hydrogen generation, storage, conversion, uses in transportation, innovation, and the advancement of fuel cells.
Any chosen company that is found to also have significant exposure to fossil fuels will be removed from the selection.
Both indices equally weight their constituents, an approach that is aimed at providing diversified exposure to the specific theme rather than high concentration in the largest names that typically results from market-cap-weighted indices.
Each ETF comes with an expense ratio of 0.60% and is classified as an Article 9 product under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
Income is accumulated within the portfolios.
Important solution for a net-zero carbon economy
The rising cost of fuel and energy is becoming a major concern for many people across the globe, and Invesco believes this strengthens the case for renewable energy beyond the need to reduce harmful carbon emissions.
The firm notes that moving away from the current over-reliance on fossil fuels will require substantially more investment in the full range of clean energy technologies with wind and hydrogen power regarded as two of the most important solutions for a net-zero carbon economy.
Gary Buxton, Head of EMEA ETFs and Indexed Strategies at Invesco, commented: “Almost half of European ETF flows this year have been into products with an ESG classification, and 40% of those assets were into funds with climate objectives or thematic exposures such as clean energy. A theme that is relatively new and largely unknown can offer strong growth potential but requires expertise to identify those companies with meaningful exposure to the theme. We selected these WilderHill indices as they offer our ETF investors access to one of the most experienced firms in clean energy index solutions.”
Chris Mellor, Head of EMEA Equity and Commodity ETF Product Management at Invesco, added: “As the world begins returning to normality, we should re-focus attention on decarbonization and increasing our use of cleaner energy sources. Global capacity for wind will need to increase by more than 500% by 2050 versus pre-pandemic levels, while hydrogen could have even higher growth potential given a lack of alternative clean energy sources for these industries.”
Rob Wilder, CEO and co-Founder of WilderHill Indexes, said: “The renewable energy space is largely unrecognisable from when I first became involved some 30 years ago, but most of this change has occurred over the last decade. Technological improvements and greater economies of scale have made clean energy much more competitive, especially in terms of utility-scale production. For example, it’s now cheaper to produce a gigawatt-hour of electricity from an offshore wind farm than from new power plants run on the cheapest fossil fuels. The priority going forward will be to increase the capacity for onshore and offshore wind as part of the overall global energy mix but also to improve the efficiency and durability of the wind turbine components.”
Wilder continued: “Hydrogen might be fairly new to many investors, perhaps unsurprising given it is at a much earlier stage of development compared to other clean energy technologies. But hydrogen power will be critical in decarbonization, especially for shipping and heavy industries where electrification is not really feasible. You will hear different types of hydrogen with colour codes based on the process used to provide the energy. Green hydrogen is the cleanest form as it does not use fossil fuel or produce any harmful by-products. Blue hydrogen is not as environmentally friendly but has the potential to make the most immediate impact. It uses natural gas but aims to capture and store the carbon emitted during the process.”