Full Title: Crowdfunding for Climate Tech Startups: A Global Analysis and the Opportunity Ahead
Author(s): Pilar Carvajo Lucena, Weiting Li, Emma Loewen, and Cheryl Webster
Publisher(s): RMI
Publication Date: July 1, 2024
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Description (excerpt):
The push to net zero is accelerating toward a 2050 deadline, but considering the enormity of the task ahead, this is an all-hands-on-deck moment. The energy transition is going to mean scaling technology solutions that are already familiar, such as wind and solar, but will also mean relying on technologies that are still nascent and yet to reach industrial scale. As the Silicon Valley boom years illustrated, technologies can scale and reach consumers rapidly off the back of a flexible and agile startup model. In the climate technology (climate tech) space, that same logic rings true, with now-common solutions from innovative heat pump technologies to electric vehicles all taking shape initially as startups.
As the world moves to clean energy sources and increased electrification, investment in the global energy sector represents the largest wealth creation opportunity in a century, with new climate tech winners set to benefit enormously from success in a booming market. But unlike in previous startup waves, new trends in fundraising mean that it is not just institutional investors and founders that will reap the financial rewards: The growth of crowdfunding to support early-stage startups also allows retail investors (both accredited and nonaccredited) to gain entry into what was previously a closed shop, ran by the world’s leading venture capital firms.
In this report, the authors outline the trends around crowdfunding for early-stage startups globally and the crowdfunding landscape for climate tech startups, offering a roadmap for effective climate action through crowdfunding support of innovative solutions. Their findings are based on a review of the crowdfunding deals and service provider landscape for climate tech startups to date, as well as interviews with startup founders and crowdfunding platform providers.