Clean Energy Ventures (CEV), a leading global venture capital firm funding early-stage climate innovations, announced the closing of an oversubscribed second flagship fund with total capital commitments of $305 million.
Along with significantly expanding the firm’s investment opportunities in North America, the latest fund allows CEV to bring its strategy and expertise to climate technology entrepreneurs in Europe and Israel.
The launching of Fund II follows the successful deployment of a $110 million Fund I, which has backed 20 disruptive companies across the climate tech landscape that collectively are poised to mitigate over 50 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Since the early days of Cleantech 1.0, CEV’s team of veteran climate investors guided the next generation of companies spanning mobility, renewable energy, carbon capture utilization and storage, energy storage, critical minerals, etc. through seismic market shifts. And with a unique investment thesis, the CEV team positions quantitative climate impact alongside financial performance, requiring that each investment be capable of mitigating at least 2.5 gigatons of CO2e emissions cumulatively between the initial investment and 2050.
CEV takes a hands-on approach for commercializing its portfolio companies by leveraging a deeply technical and commercial team with support from a group of venture partners and angel investors with extensive industry executive experience and a Strategic Advisory Board led by former U.S. Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz.
With a 15+ year track record of growing climate tech companies, CEV now works along with over 70 strategic co-investors, and is backed by LPs including Carbon Equity, The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Builders Vision, and New Summit Investments.
So far, CEV has deployed capital from Fund II into long-duration energy storage company Noon Energy, compressor technology Evari, Israeli green ammonia company Nitrofix, and UK-based sustainable aviation fuel company OXCCU, with two additional stealth companies soon to be announced.
KEY QUOTES:
“Demand for climate investment opportunities is rising from all corners of the globe, and we are grateful for the amount of interest from our new and existing LPs. As we look to scale decarbonization technologies globally, we’re doubling down on our thesis to invest in novel hardware-oriented climate-saving technologies with the potential to bring outsized emissions reductions and top-tier financial returns.”
- Temple Fennell, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Clean Energy Ventures
“As we catalyze the innovators building the decarbonized economy with new climate tech solutions, CEV’s combined ability to pinpoint the most impactful companies and technologies and then shepherd them into commercialization has been a crucial force for us and the global climate tech ecosystem.”
- Scott Gerdes, Director of Private Investments for Builders Asset Management, the asset management team of Builders Vision and a limited partner in CEV’s new fund
“With climate tech funding soaring tenfold across Europe in recent years, today it is the continent’s fastest growing sector. Tapping into the region’s thriving innovation ecosystems, we are primed to bridge the funding gap for promising early-stage companies and bring our expertise and network to accelerate European companies’ path to market.”
- Daniel Goldman, Co-Founder and Managing Partner
“Climate action is atop the European agenda, and climate technologies are poised and ready for development and adoption. We are fortunate to have CEV’s support and guidance as OXCCU scales its innovative one-step technology from lab to planet.”
- OXCCU CEO Andrew Symes
“We know our hands-on guidance goes well beyond standard venture capital, through dedicated leadership coaching, strategic marketing, IP development, engineering support, and active board participation. We are eager to seize this next chapter in our firm’s growth with our second fund and support more early-stage companies with deeply technical, game changing approaches to decarbonization.”
- David Miller, Co-Founder and Managing Partner
