Updated:
StB Capital Partners
Trevor St Baker’s StB Capital Partners runs two energy-transition funds out of Australia, with a realized 4.71x return on battery-materials company...
StB Capital Partners
Trevor St Baker, an Australian energy entrepreneur, founded ERM Power in 1980 and listed it on the ASX in 2010. When Shell acquired the business in 2019, Fund I received A$144 million in listing-to-acquisition proceeds. Those returns seeded StB Capital Partners, which now runs a concentrated portfolio of energy-transition investments spanning Australia, the US, and Asia. The firm structures capital through two vehicles. The St Baker Energy Innovation Fund (StBEIF) holds the early-stage cleantech portfolio, including a A$29 million position in Novonix that returned A$136 million at an 80.6% IRR over five years (per firm website, accessed 2026). The Energy Transition Fund (Fund II) targets electrification of transport, energy-sector decarbonization, and adjacent infrastructure. Confirmed positions include Evie Networks, Australia’s largest charge-point operator with more than 200 fast-charging locations, which has drawn multiple grants from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. The mandate spans battery materials, synthetic graphite, charging networks, and distributed energy systems. StB Capital Partners operates from Brisbane and Sydney. The firm is led by founder Trevor St Baker and Chris Hay, though detailed team size remains undisclosed. The legacy of Fund I — anchored by the ERM Power exit and the Novonix realization — underpins the firm’s ability to write follow-on checks in subsequent vehicles. Recent activity: the firm is actively marketing the Energy Transition Fund to sophisticated and wholesale investors, as noted on its website in 2026. The firm’s architecture is unusual in Australian venture: it is a principal-backed manager deploying capital from a founder’s realized operating wealth rather than third-party institutional commitments, placing it between a pure family office and a traditional fund manager. This hybrid posture allows concentrated, thesis-driven bets without external LP pacing pressure.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Oceania
Country
Australia
City
Brisbane
Corporate office
Level 4, 410 Queen Street, Brisbane City QLD 4000, Australia
Additional offices
Sydney, Australia
Principals
Trevor St Baker
Founder
Chris Hay
Leadership team
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at StB Capital Partners?
Founder Trevor St Baker and leadership team member Chris Hay guide the firm’s investment process, per the firm’s website. St Baker brings the operating and capital-markets experience from building ERM Power and taking it public and through its sale to Shell. The firm has not publicly disclosed a separate investment committee or broader deal-team structure.
How does StB Capital Partners source proprietary deal flow?
Sourcing leans on the founder’s deep energy-industry network built over four decades at ERM Power, combined with the firm’s thesis-driven focus on electrification and decarbonization. Portfolio companies like Novonix and Evie Networks suggest the firm identifies battery-material and charging-infrastructure opportunities where government grant programs — such as ARENA — provide non-dilutive co-funding signals.
Is StB Capital Partners structured as a single family office or a fund manager?
It operates as a hybrid. The St Baker Energy Innovation Fund (StBEIF) was seeded with Trevor St Baker’s own capital and realized proceeds from ERM Power and Novonix, functioning like a principal investment vehicle. The newer Energy Transition Fund (Fund II) is being marketed to external sophisticated and wholesale investors, moving the firm toward a traditional fund-manager model while retaining concentrated founder alignment.
What investment stages does StB Capital Partners typically target?
The firm focuses on early-stage to growth-stage companies in the energy transition and e-mobility sectors. Its position in Evie Networks — Australia’s largest charge-point operator with over 200 locations — indicates a willingness to back infrastructure-heavy operating companies through scaling phases, not just early-stage technology risk.
Does StB Capital Partners participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The firm’s disclosed vehicles are direct-investment funds, not fund-of-funds. StBEIF and the Energy Transition Fund both make direct equity investments into clean-energy companies. There is no public evidence of StB Capital Partners committing capital as an LP into third-party venture or infrastructure funds.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The wealth originated from Trevor St Baker’s founding and scaling of ERM Power, an Australian electricity retailing and generation business established in 1980, listed on the ASX in 2010, and sold to Shell in 2019. Fund I received A$144 million in proceeds during the listed period, which seeded the firm’s initial investment vehicle.
What is StB Capital Partners’ posture on co-investments alongside external investors?
The firm has not publicly detailed a co-investment program. Its portfolio companies — such as Evie Networks — have received government co-funding through ARENA and state-based programs, suggesting the firm is comfortable with non-dilutive public co-investment alongside its equity positions. Co-investment with private institutional partners remains undisclosed.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
Need institutional-grade insight on family offices?
Altss delivers:
Prefer a guided tour?
We’ll walk you through: