Engine No. 1 Plans Fund to Target Abandoned Fossil-Fuel Projects

Engine No. 1, the investment firm that led a shakeup of Exxon Mobil Corp.’s board two years ago, plans to start a private equity fund to invest in fossil-fuel and mining assets that others have abandoned.

The firm hired Erik Belz from Blackstone Inc. to invest in oil, mining and agricultural businesses in North America that are making the transition to reducing their carbon emissions. The fund also will target oil wells, pipelines and lithium-mining projects.

“The problem is capital has fled the sector at the exact moment when the sector needs capital the most,” Belz, 37, said in ...