press releases

Venture investment in clean technologies reaches US$1.1 billion

 

  • Ann Arbor, MI – March 21, 2003 – Just under $1.1 billion was invested in 179
  • emerging cleantech companies in 2002, according to the most recent issue of the
  • CLEANTECH Venture Monitor released today. At 5.1% of overall venture capital
  • activity last year, about 1 in every 20 deals was in the cleantech space, from
  • solar energy to water purification. Cleantech is now the sixth largest venture
  • category. The Monitor can be downloaded at www.cleantechventure.com.
  •  
  • Highlights of 2002 include:
  •  
  • • Clean energy ventures received the most dollars at $494 million, or 45%,
  • but received only 33% in the fourth quarter with clean industrial technology
  • companies taking up the slack.
  •  
  • • Average deal size declined from $8.1 million in the first quarter to $4.1
  • million in the final quarter, as investors moved from follow-on financings to
  • backing startups, consistent with venture capital activity in other sectors.
  •  
  • • West Coast companies received the most funding at 23% but the North
  • East came in a close second at 22.1%, with a strong fourth quarter
  • showing of 37.6%. Canadian companies secured 14% of total funding.
  •  
  • • Most active investor, by number of deals, was Hydro Quebec Capitech,
  • the venture capital arm of the Montreal-based utility. Only one of the top
  • ten investors is based on the West Coast.
  •  
  • • Six of the top ten deals were done in the second quarter. Advanced
  • Disposal Services was the year’s biggest deal at $52.9 million. VeraSun
  • Energy was the largest deal in the fourth quarter at $17.3 million.
  •  
  • “2002 was a success for the cleantech venture community”, says Nicholas
  • Parker, Cleantech Venture Network Chairman, “because more and more new
  • investors are doing cleantech deals, giving entrepreneurs greater access to
  • capital. The range of deals completed shows the potential for cleantech to
  • positively impact virtually every industrial and infrastructure-related sector”.
  •  
  • The next Cleantech Venture Forum will be held in San Francisco from April 30th
  • to May 1st 2003. Nearly 200 companies have expressed interest in presenting.
  • Leading professional investors registered to attend include Kleiner Perkins
  • Caufield & Byers, 3i, Advent International, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Nth Power,
  • and Technology Partners, as well as top corporate backed venturers in the
  • cleantech space such as Eastman Ventures, Hydro Quebec Capitech, RWE,
  • Chrysalix and OPG Ventures.
  •  
  • Publicly launched in July 2002, the Cleantech Venture Network is a market
  • facilitation service providing venture forums, investment reports, online services
  • to investors and companies,
  •  
  • For additional information, please go to www.cleantechventure.com or contact:
  • Keith Raab, CEO, keith@cleantechventure.com, 734-528-2979
  • Nicholas Parker, Chairman, nicholas@cleantechventure.com, 416-456-9314