Capital intensive cleantech innovations may lose out in bid to secure funding

New report from the Cleantech Group and Real Deals lists potential cleantech winners and losers as investors reassess their appetite for risk

COPENHAGEN, 28 April 2009 – The Cleantech Group™ LLC, founders of the cleantech investment category, along with European private equity magazine and online news service Real Deals, will present their joint report into the European clean technology industry at the Cleantech Forum® XXII, Copenhagen on 30th April 2009. The report entitled ‘The Future of Cleantech in Europe’, sponsored by leading European law firm Taylor Wessing, will set out which clean technology sectors could be set to prosper in the global economic crisis, as well as predicting some that are likely to take a hit.

Key findings of the report, which features interviews with significant European investors and other power players in cleantech, include:

• Cleantech firms which can demonstrate they can deliver a quick return on investment will receive most interest from investors. Conversely, grandiose, capital intensive projects are likely to receive less attention. Innovations which enhance, rather than replace, existing infrastructures look particularly well placed. Among others, one potential winner is smart grid technology, which improves the efficiency of existing electricity infrastructures.
• Early stage investments will decline as investors shy away from high risk ventures. Instead, venture capital and private equity investors will focus on funding firms with innovations which are reaching the end of the R&D phase and serve a proven market need, the report predicts. This could lead to a decrease in the number of new clean tech start ups getting off the ground over the coming months.
• Corporate investors are expected to play a much bigger role in the cleantech sector as private equity and venture capital firms continue to lose their appetite for risk.
• Governments will continue in the pivotal role they have come to play in the previous several months as significant sources of capital, and speculation will no longer centre on whether large sums will get spent, but how, how smartly, when, how rapidly, and who will get their hands on the capital and why.

A full copy of the 48 page report will be available to attendees of Cleantech Forum XXII, will be published in Real Deals magazine on 7 May 2009, and is available now to members of the Cleantech Network here.

“The publication of this report comes at a particularly opportune moment. While the current financial crisis has led to fears that there will be a significant reduction in the funding available for cleantech, it has also turned the spotlight on less capital-intensive projects and highlighted the fact that it will actually be the combined effect of many initiatives that will help reverse the effects of climate change. The report also comes against the backdrop of a realisation by governments across the world that the creation of “green jobs” will be central to the economic recovery,” said Simon Walker, Head of Venture Capital, at Taylor Wessing in the UK.

The report will be showcased at Cleantech Forum XXII, Europe’s leading global investment forum, taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark on 28-30 April 2009. More than 400 investors, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and policymakers in the rapidly developing clean technology marketplace will be attending the event to discuss the sector’s role in navigating world economies out of recession and tackling resource scarcity.

“The current economic crisis is hitting all firms seeking investment. Although some companies seeking funding are clearly taking a hit, the cleantech sector – with its widespread political support and fundamental drivers intact – is better placed to weather the storm than others,” said Richard Youngman, managing director for Europe and Israel, Cleantech Group. “Crises are not evenly bad; history has taught us that downturns like these provide some companies with funding the runway and the opportunity to get ahead.”

Full information on the Cleantech Forum XXII, including agenda, is available at http://cleantech.com/cleantechforum/copenhagen09/

About the Cleantech Group, LLC
The Cleantech Group pioneered the clean technology investment category in 2002. Today, it accelerates the development and market adoption of clean technologies globally. The company’s worldwide network of investors, entrepreneurs, enterprises, service providers and others—representing trillions of dollars in assets—receives access to capital, investment deal flow, networking, market leading research and data, sales leads and promotional opportunities. The Cleantech Group also provides advisory services for large corporations and governments, publishes leading cleantech sector industry news coverage and produces the premier Cleantech Forum® events worldwide. Details are available at http://www.cleantech.com.

About Real Deals
Real Deals (www.realdeals.eu.com) is Europe’s leading venture capital and private equity magazine, providing daily news, comment and deal analysis. For further information, call publishing director Dan Brennan on 020 73687134 / db1@caspianpublishing.co.uk or editor Amy Carroll on 0207 368 7137 / amy@realdeals.eu.com

About Taylor Wessing
Taylor Wessing is a leading law firm providing legal support for commercial organisations doing business in Europe. Based in Belgium, France, Germany and the UK, we provide the full range of legal services to major corporations and growing enterprises.

Combining expertise in the energy and technology sectors with top-ranked venture capital and intellectual property practices, Taylor Wessing's knowledge and experience in the cleantech space means that our lawyers give pragmatic and constructive advice that enable transactions to be completed in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Press contacts:

Cleantech Group:
Ben Roberts/Jacqui Depares
Johnson King PR
T: +44 (0)20 7401 7968
E: ctgteam@johnsonking.co.uk

Taylor Wessing:
Simon Walker
T: +44 (0)20 7300 7000
E: s.walker@taylorwessing.com

or

Dillon Mann/Rohit Grover
Spada PR
T: +44 (0)20 7269 1430
E: dillonmann@spada.co.uk / rohit.grover@spada.co.uk

Real Deals:
Dan Brennan/Amy Carroll
T: +44 (0)20 7368 7134
E: db1@caspianpublishing.co.uk / amy@realdeals.eu.com