Clean Growth Fund secures £49mln for UK climate tech
The UK’s specialist climate tech venture capital firm announced £49mln of its second fund for advancing net-zero technology.
Targeting £150mln in total to accelerate the next generation of net-zero innovation.
Two of Clean Growth Fund's (CGF’s) Fund I investors including Strathclyde Pension Fund have recommitted to Fund II and are joined by new investors Islington and East Riding LGPS.
Fund II follows Fund I, which invested in 19 breakthrough climate tech start-ups now projected to reduce over 55Mt of CO2e by 2030.
The portfolio companies include:
- Sunswap – Developer of zero-emission transport refrigeration units, with a £6mln+ growing order book delivering units to major corporations such as DFDS and Tesco.
- Rendesco – Provider of low-carbon ground-source heat networks, over 400 completed projects, with £100mln pipeline and 80% revenue growth in last 12 months.
- Above – Apply robotics, AI and Computer Vision technology to enable the solar industry to build and operate higher performing plants. Revenue has grown at 50% CAGR since 2021
Fund II will continue CGF’s focused strategy of investing in UK-based, early-stage companies developing technologies with high potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The fund will deploy initial cheques of £500k to £5mln targeting innovations across six core areas:
- Power and energy systems
- Transport and mobility
- Industrial decarbonisation
- Buildings and the built environment
- Agrifood and land use
- Circular economy, waste and water
‘Raising capital in this market isn’t easy, especially with global political uncertainty affecting climate policy momentum’ said Beverley Gower-Jones, Managing Partner at CGF. ‘Despite this, the UK continues to stand out as a hub for climate innovation – and the strong first close of Fund II reflects the trust our investors place in our team and our mission.’
