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Investors urged to get in early on ‘unprecedented’ climate tech opportunities

Australian early-stage investment group Investible raising of a AU$100 million Climate Tech Fund citing ‘unprecedented’ climate tech opportunities.

After decades of debates, data gathering and inaction, the shift, particularly in the last year, has been striking.”
— Tom Kline, Head of Climate Tech, Investible
SYDNEY, NSW, AUSTRALIA, October 1, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The convergence of the climate emergency and global tailwinds in the climate sector is creating a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity for technology investors. Leading early-stage investment company Investible is doubling down on its efforts to accelerate that growth.

Investible is now underway with the raising of a AU$100 million Climate Tech Fund, following the successful raise of its second sector-agnostic fund earlier this year.

Investible’s Climate Tech Fund will invest in early-stage climate-focussed technology businesses, with 50% capacity to participate in follow-on rounds. While the Fund will predominantly focus on Australian businesses, it will also invest up to 30% internationally, providing access to emerging climate technologies around the globe.

The Fund will seek to invest in companies that assist in reducing emissions across the six sectors identified by the United Nations Environment Programme as the most critical in enabling a low-carbon, more resilient future.

They include Energy; Transport; Industry; Buildings and Cities; Food and Agriculture; and Forests and Land Use.

Experts believe there is potential across these sectors to reduce global emissions by between 29 to 32 CO₂e gigatons annually and limit temperature rise to 1.5°C by 2030 - with technology essential to enabling rapid changes at scale.

“We are strong believers that decarbonisation will come from a broad suite of solutions addressing all parts of the economy — not one or a few ‘silver bullets’,” says Investible CEO Rod Bristow.

“The numbers show a large and diverse portfolio approach is key to generating stronger returns and, over the last decade, Investible has built a proven screening and investment methodology to both source high-quality deal flow and offer a compelling proposition to highly sought-after early stage companies.”

“As leaders in investing at the seed stage, we can make a significant impact by providing the climate tech sector the smart, early stage capital and comprehensive support needed to commercialise their technology and scale globally,” he added.

To support the Fund, Investible has brought together a highly experienced climate-focused investment team led by Tom Kline and Patrick Sieb.

Kline’s background is in renewable energy and funds management both in Sydney and New York. Prior to joining Investible, he was the inaugural CEO of New Energy Solar - a renewable energy manager that built a portfolio of large-scale solar farms across the United States and Australia which manages over US$1 billion in renewable assets.

Sieb is an active climate tech angel investor with more than 22 years of infrastructure and technology investment banking experience. He has been investing in tech companies since 2014 but has been solely focussed on early stage climate tech companies since 2019 and plays an active role in supporting companies as an advisor, mentor and director.

The Fund has welcomed two respected investors, business leaders and policy advisors to its Investment Committee in Topaz Conway and Katerina Kimmorley. With a passion for deep tech and more than 20 years’ experience as a founder, scale-up CEO, angel investor and venture capital, Conway works extensively with early-stage companies on commercialisation strategies and investment. She is Professor of Practice at UNSW and Non-Executive Director at Cicada Innovations, Neuraura Inc, Omni Tanker Technologies, AgScent Technologies and UTS Foundation.

Kimmorley is a leading voice in the development of Clean Tech in Australia and Asia. She joined the founding team at a $1bn Clean Tech venture capital Innovation fund at the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and was the Founder of Pollinate Energy, which she grew to become the largest provider of solar lighting to slum communities across India and Nepal.

Investible’s climate tech investment team is also complemented by a network of sector specialist advisers.

Kline says climate tech represents an unprecedented opportunity for investors to support exceptional founders to build successful companies while combating one of the greatest challenges facing humanity.

“After decades of debates, data gathering and inaction, the shift, particularly in the last year, has been striking. It is simultaneously the critical time for us all to take climate action before it’s too late and one of the biggest investment opportunities in our lifetime. There are numerous tailwinds converging toward this once-in-history moment.

“The scale of climate action required is so significant that it will require a transformation across almost every industry and country. The transformation requires both new technologies and the adaptation and rapid deployment of existing technologies. The size and urgency of the problem means that businesses that help solve it will be highly valuable,” he added.

In August, Investible announced it will launch Greenhouse, a growth hub dedicated to enabling climate tech startups to scale, late next year, with support from the City of Sydney.

Located within the new ‘Salesforce Tower’ at Sydney's famous Circular Quay, Greenhouse will bring together industry, academia, research, government, capital and ancillary services to become the focal point for climate-related innovation in Australia.

“Australia has a great history of inventing world-leading technologies and has all of the ingredients needed to be a leader in climate tech,” said Kline.

“Through the Climate Tech Fund and Greenhouse, Investible aims to support both founders and the wider ecosystem to deliver outcomes for investors, Australia and the climate.”

-ENDS-

About Investible

As Australia’s leading seed investment group, Investible fuses instinct with insight to back the world’s next generation of game-changers. Over the last decade, Investible has distilled the complexity of early-stage investment into a comprehensive and consistent process that de-risks portfolios. Combined with a unique structure that enables its network of investors to co-invest alongside its Funds, Investible is achieving returns in the top quartile of early-stage investors globally.

Note: Investible is also a member of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, which is a commitment by international asset managers representing over $43 trillion to support the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or sooner.

Lauren Trucksess
Investible
lauren@investible.com
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