Climatize, an SEC-registered impact investing platform that enables investors to fund renewable energy projects while earning up to 10% annually, announced the close of a $1.75 million pre-seed round led by Myriad Venture Partners. The funding round also includes investments from Climate Capital, Techstars, Responsibly Ventures, and Temerity Capital. And notable angel investors include the co-founder of GoFundMe, the former operating partner of Bessemer Ventures, and the head of Americas for a utility-scale renewable energy developer Low Carbon.
Small and medium-sized renewable energy projects across the US have historically been severely underfunded. Projects at this scale are not large enough for institutional capital and are often too big for community lenders unfamiliar with renewable energy technology or economics.
Climatize works with experienced renewable energy developers across states like North Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado, and Georgia to find high-quality projects and list them on the Climatize platform. And after these projects are on Climatize, any investor age 18+ that has a US bank account can fund these opportunities with as little as $10. Solar and other renewable energy technologies have to be deployed much faster to reach the ambitious carbon reduction targets established by the scientific community.
In the past year, Climatize has made big strides towards its mission of creating the global network for climate-focused investors which will propel billions of dollars into renewable energy projects. And this will help lower energy costs, electrify and decarbonize businesses, and mitigate the effects of climate change.
So far, Climatize’s platform has funded 11 projects across seven states thanks to the 950+ members who have invested over $4.6 million dollars. And these investments have helped to install solar energy and battery storage for businesses like farms, community centers, and houses of worship. These projects resulted in 965 kW of new solar capacity and 1,357 kWh of energy storage added to the grid. Climatize’s platform helped fund a number of projects for Ovanova, a solar developer based in the southeastern US.
Climatize expects to use these funding to expand their product and technology roadmap, improve the customer experience, develop partnerships with key stakeholders, and continue to attract top talent.
KEY QUOTES:
“Climatize was born from the 2019 Global Climate Strikes when we realized that traditional activism lacked tangible change. We built the Climatize platform to enable anyone to become an active stakeholder in the energy transition by investing directly in renewable energy projects. We’re incredibly excited to continue deploying solar and other renewable technologies while giving investors an opportunity to increase their impact and diversify their portfolios.”
– Will Wiseman, co-founder and CEO of Climatize
“Most banking institutions in rural communities have no idea how to loan capital against solar or other renewable energy assets, and as such many potentially lucrative projects aren’t built. Climatize has made it possible for rural small businesses and farmers to access capital that otherwise wouldn’t be available. Thanks to Climatize’s platform we were able to build several projects utilizing debt instead of our working capital.”
– Lester Crafton, CSO & co-founder of Ovanova
“We see a tremendous demand from businesses large and small for cleaner, cheaper and more reliable energy. Climatize is helping to achieve this by advancing renewable energy generation projects that are often underserved by traditional project financers. The future of clean energy is distributed, and Myriad is proud to support Climatize’s work to make clean energy financing more efficient, transparent & accessible for communities and businesses. We look forward to working closely with the Climatize team as they expand their offerings, partnerships, and ultimately, impact.”
– Tim Chiang, co-founder and partner at Myriad Venture Partners
