Europe has seen tremendous growth in VC investment over the past years. According to the State of European Tech 2019 report, capital invested in Europe had more than doubled in five years to EUR 32 billion. Although this is magnificent news, it unfortunately did not help the Continent overcome one of its biggest handicaps, namely its inability of scaling up startups. While for instance, in 2019, the US counted 1,131 deals with a value > USD 25 million, in the EU only 271 deals reached that size; and as the deal size grows, the gap between US and Europe increases both in deal count as well as in deal value.
Especially for technology startups, the process of raising funds to develop to a commercial-scale company with stable revenues, and thus to overcome the so-called valley of death, poses a number of prevalent challenges. As a consequence, many European startups started turning towards Asia or North America for larger markets, more abundant funding, and ambitious public policies that accelerate their adoption.
Unarguably, deep-tech’s need for higher levels of investment over a longer period has made foreign funding inevitable. Still, the above mentioned valley of death becomes particularly dangerous when it comes to technologies relevant for achieving Europe’s Green Deal targets and, thus, Europe’s climate leadership.
In order to build much-needed bridges with policymakers in Brussels and other European capitals, Cleantech for Europe, a new initiative created by Cleantech Group and supported by Breakthrough Energy, was brought to life. In a first instance, six leading cleantech venture capital firms, regarded as pioneers in financing innovative low-carbon companies, are joining the initiative. Startups, scaleups, academia, as well as civil society will join the initiative over time to build a future-oriented, technology-savvy group of cleantech leaders from across the EU.
We are excited to announce that Munich Venture Partners is joining forces with the Cleantech for Europe initiative to fight for a greener and fairer economy together with Beamline Accelerator, btov Industrial Tech Fund, Inven Capital, Rockstart, and SET Ventures. Combined, we have invested in more than 150 innovative low-carbon startups and scaleups so far, including global leaders such as Sonnen or Sunfire. Our aim is to build a collective voice and convey to policymakers as well as other stakeholders the importance of investing in the next generation of clean technologies.
Specifically, the Cleantech for Europe initiative calls on the EU to:
- Create a demand shock for green solutions. Create sectoral transition plans. Implement a predictable and progressive price on carbon. Accelerate green public procurement.
- Support the creation of at least 10 EU scale-up funds. Increase non-dilutive funding. Leverage public-private instruments such as carbon contracts for difference.
- Support cross-border scaling. Harmonize regulations and standards to allow innovative companies scale from one country to the continent. Develop integrated value chains across all member states.
Based on our long experience in the cleantech sector, we trust to be able to support the Cleantech for Europe initiative with our technical expertise, sector knowledge, as well as our learnings in scaling up cleantech businesses.
We hereby would like to thank the Cleantech Group and Breakthrough Energy for setting up the initiative. We look forward to working together and to welcoming interesting partners to our initiative. We are confident that if we succeed at scaling up cleantech, the EU will lead the race to net zero.
About Cleantech for Europe
Cleantech for Europe is an initiative created by Cleantech Group, supported by Breakthrough Energy and leading EU cleantech investors. Our mission is to help the EU lead the race to net zero while creating long-term industrial competitiveness. We aim to put innovation at the center of the public policy debate and build bridges between the EU’s cleantech community and policymakers in Brussels and member states.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
