Watching the VC Cleantech Landscape
Posted on Tue, Nov 29, 2011
By Melissa
A big tip shared loud and clear by venture capitalists at the Clean Energy 2011 Conference in Boston in October was there’s enough late-stage capital right now, but too little at the early stage. Among the startup and trend presentations on supplying the grid, greening transportation and managing energy efficiency, venture capitalists and local cleantech enthusiasts focused on project funding and advice for startups and emerging companies.
Venture capitalists emphasized that this is an opportunity for unconventional investors like family offices and corporate and angel investors to step up and invest in early-stage companies, since cleantech venture capital is performing as well as venture capital overall.
Ernst & Young recently confirmed the general availability of capital in this market. The firm released the results of its analysis of U.S. venture capital investment in cleantech during the third quarter of 2011. Even with a non-ideal investment market, Q3 investments in cleantech grew 73 percent to $1.1 billion compared to Q3 2010.
The takeaway: The overall investment in the cleantech market is there, but the breakdown of which stage companies get that capital is not always clear. Cleantech is the wave of the future. We work with companies in industries from solar power to technology deployed in electric vehicles and wind pitch systems because advancing these technologies is not just good business; it’s essential to our future and our planet. VC’s obviously agree, as well.
There were 50 new cleantech ventures funded nationally last year. Ten of them were in New England. Boston is in the center of this effort with alumni and professors at MIT and entrepreneurial graduate programs at other surrounding universities establishing cleantech efforts. We’ll be watching which ventures get funded during the next year as we continue our work with clients that are manufacturing breakthrough technology in the space.
Which recently funded cleantech company is your favorite?