Aaron Ratner’s Post

"You can’t solve climate with SaaS" , says Matt Rogers in this smart TechCrunch article. His, and the author's, point is that cleantech is fundamentally different than software because each iteration/scale-up requires significant capital investment. This presents a challenge because often the funding needed for early deployments exceeds the amounts available from venture capitalist, but are too risky for private equity. Prime Coalition and Spring Lane Capital are addressing this with 'catalytic capital' and so are we at Ariel Green by offering technology performance insurance (TPI) to manage 'technology risk' and allow low-cost financing to participate in cleantech projects with confidence. https://lnkd.in/gxu54Atp

Happy #ClimateWeek everyone. I’m looking forward to seeing you all around this week. Sharing this recent write up from CTVC that dives into the complexities that founders are navigating as they scale their companies as well as the projects many of them need to implement for success. Check out the resource the team has begun to pull together to advance this work. The focus on creative financing is great and in its own right requires strategy and support. Demystifying the various capital stacks is certainly part of the equation and I’m glad the Climate Tech VC team is filling in this gap in our space as well as calling attention to catalytic capital. AND still we see an incredible opportunity for funders to focus on the strategy that involves human capital and systems science derisking pre-development processes. I’m thrilled to be building in that space alongside incredible people and partners. Looking forward to sharing more in the coming months! You can read my article for ImpactAlpha that gives a sneak peak here: https://lnkd.in/e-_APbTP #climatetech #ClimateWeekNYC #catalyticcapital #projectfinance #predevelopment

Montauk Climate, led by Evan Caron, Philip Krim and Sharo Atmeh, a dedicated incubator for climate technology startups, announced its official launch with significant backing of $8.5 million in operating capital. The round was led by Amplo Founder and Managing Partner, Sheel Tyle. 🌱 The incubator is committed to building impactful technology companies focused on sustainability, electrification, and digitization. 🌱 It aims to address urgent climate challenges by nurturing top-tier talent and developing scalable solutions, particularly in infrastructure, electrification, and climate adaptation. #ClimateTech #SustainabilityInnovation #CleanEnergy #ClimateInnovation #StartupLaunch #GreenTech #TechIncubator #ClimateAction #RenewableEnergy #InfrastructureTech #DigitalTransformation #ImpactInvesting #ClimateAdaptation

Climate tech is booming, with the sector raising more European funding in the first quarter of 2024 than another other. The question is, what specific types of solutions are more likely to inspire #climatetech investors to reach deep into their pockets?   Speaking to influential players at firms like Giant Ventures and Transition VC, Sifted has revealed what’s on investors’ most-wanted lists, including data centre decarbonisation and software-enabled marketplaces to spur timber use in construction. 👇

We are thrilled to be continuously supporting our portfolio company Carbonfuture to help us transition to a net-zero future by scaling carbon removal to the gigatonne level, securing a just and livable world for us all!🌍 Their two products - Carbonfuture MRV+ and Carbonfuture Marketplace - bring trust to every step of the carbon removal journey through rigorous processes and data-driven transparency. From day one Hannes Junginger and Matthias Ansorge recognized that building trust in carbon removal was the cornerstone to unlock its enormous potential in addressing the climate crisis. Read more below about bringing trust to every step of the carbon removal journey through rigorous processes and data-driven transparency. ⏬ #carbonremoval #startup #vc

Great insights from the CREtech conference in NY yesterday. "Buildings built by conventional means are expensive, and it is a process that is risk averse,” said Lowercarbon Capital Founder & Chairman Chris Sacca. "But that has made an industry that is averse to exploration and change.” With $2 billion under management, Sacca’s company is nearly 1 percent of the $220 billion U.S. industry focused on stopping and remedying the impacts of climate change. From low-carbon concrete to pocket-size sensors that can measure the water flow in an entire building, the technologies needed to meet ambitious sustainability goals exist or will exist, experts say, but they need to scale. Many of these fledgling enterprises were at the conference looking for funders and potential users. https://lnkd.in/e-XpZS_b Thank you for sharing Julia Wilkinson CC: Sean McManus Matt Haggman Gillian Marcelle, PhD Susan McPherson Michael Byrne Don Gips Jalak Jobanputra Emily Green Cameron Rogers, CFA Hannah Kovich Tara Jafarmadar, P.E., PMP Wenyi Cai Marie Berry Kiel Berry Christina Sass #climatetech #venturecapital #finance #proptech #realestate

This is EXACTLY why Sead Bajrovic and I started Water Impact Partners, we want to change this: "....there are few large-scale investment opportunities: the water tech sector has just one billion-dollar start-up, or unicorn — Boston-based Gradiant — while, in climate tech, the world’s top 20 unicorns alone were valued at more than $140bn in early 2024". "Investments in water start-ups remain small: an estimated $470mn in 2021, according to GWI WaterData, compared with almost $27bn for climate tech in the first half of 2022." Since we come from both the startup, corporate and investors side of water we are able to support the founders and teams in the most promising water technology companies out there. By doing so, we can begin to do major impact within the water challenges we have today and tomorrow.

Climate tech companies face unique hurdles like high costs and long times to profit. Overcoming these involves derisking, creative financing, and speeding up scale-ups. Regulatory support and public-private partnerships are key. What innovative financing solutions or partnerships have you seen that can help climate tech companies succeed? #climatetech #esg #savetheplanet

It's a too hot summer in many places! Those with the resources need to respond. Capital markets play a pivotal role in the transition to a low-carbon society, mobilising investments in climate adaptation across the economy, from start-ups to long-established manufacturers/producers. At Capient, we believe all parts of the investment and capital allocation ecosystem can play an active part in helping the world transition to net zero. 💪 Others share this belief: "More and more," ... "we see companies active in the hardcore decarbonization space, and more startups willing to touch hardware and software together." https://lnkd.in/d4TtD26y

Since the start of 2020: 2,600 climate tech companies 4,156 funding deals $142B raised The economic downturn of 2022-2023 slowed down climate tech investments, in line with the overall venture market. But it didn't change the trajectory. And what makes this even more of a mega trend is how wide the growth is: every sub-vertical is growing. What used to be dominated by transportation, is now a multi-segment business opportunity. Now’s the time to move in. Source: Sightline Climate (CTVC) #cliamtetech #climate