A coalition of venture capital funds has this week announced the launch of a new initiative, dubbed Cleantech for UK, which aims to better co-ordinate support for the next generation of UK cleantech firms.
Backed by Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy investment vehicle and analyst firm Cleantech Group, the new coalition aims to bring together investors in early stage clean tech firms to help accelerate investment in the fast-expanding sector.
Participants in the new coalition, which together represent combined funds worth more than £6bn, met at Imperial College in London yesterday where they were joined by Gates and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for the official launch oif the new group.
Cleantech for UK describes itself as a "new initiative to establish a dialogue between the UK's policy-making community and those living the reality of creating, incubating, investing in and scaling cleantech companies".
"The UK has all the ingredients to become a major player in the global push to build our net zero emissions future, including world-class research facilities and forward-looking investors," said Ann Mettler, vice president for Europe at Breakthrough Energy. "I am confident that the Cleantech for UK coalition will become a key bridge between cleantech investors, innovators and policy makers."
Founding members of the coalition include Imperial College London's cleantech accelerator Undaunted, cleantech venture capital investors Kiko Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and Clean Growth Fun, climate-led investor Just Climate, and alternative asset platform Legal & General Capital.
Beverley Gower-Jones, managing partner of the Clean Growth Fund, said the UK was "well positioned to support the country's climate tech entrepreneurs". But she also warned that if the UK is to have any chance of successfully winning a slice of the 4th industrial revolution "we need do more".
"We need a higher degree of collaboration across finance, industry and government, as well a significant ramp up of venture capital investment into early-stage clean tech and first of a kind demonstrator projects," she said.
Her comments were echoed by Richard Youngman, chief executive officer at Cleantech Group, who said: "To secure the enormous benefits on offer to those brave enough to lead the transformation of our industrialised economies to cleaner, decarbonised and resource-efficient versions of themselves will require innovation in all facets. Yes, technological, but equally in financial instruments and in policy-making. I believe a period of intense dialogue, experimentation and hyper-collaboration is needed for the UK to deliver on its net zero goals, its economic growth ambitions, and its national security."
The new coalition will draw on the experience of similar programmes established in continental Europe, including Cleantech for Europe, Cleantech for France, the Tech for Net Zero Allianz, Cleantech for Nordics, and Cleantech for Baltics.
