Venture capital (VC) firms spent over $25 billion funding clean energy technology (cleantech) start-ups from 2006 to 2011. Less than half of the capital was returned; as a result, funding has Dried up in the cleantech industry. However, as the International Energy Agency warns, with no new Energy technologies, the planet cannot cost-effectively confront climate change.
In this Guide, we are reviewIng hundreds of investments to calculate the risk and return profile of cleantech, compared with those of medical and software technology investments. Cleantech posed high risks and afforded low Yields to VCs. We conclude that even”deep technology” investments–in companies developing new Hardware, substances, chemistries, or procedures that never achieved manufacturing scaledrove the Inadequate operation of the cleantech industry. We propose that broader support from policymakers, Corporations, and investors are needed to underpin new innovation pathways for cleantech. Public Policy can directly encourage emerging technologies by providing easier access to analyzing and demon- Station centers and expanding access to non-dilutive research, development, demonstration, and Deployment (RDD&D) financing. The General Public sector can also promote new investors and corporations to invest in cleantech innovation.
Coupled with deep sector-specific experience can quicken scale-up and supply accessibility to markets.
And non-VC investors willing to supply substantial capital for a decade or longer are more likely
To reap satisfying returns in the long run, if they work with those partners to help grow and
de-risk technology.
