Today we are announcing Cleantech Group’s 1,000, a list of the innovators, investors, corporates, and accelerators we are watching most closely right now.
Available to members only, its purpose is to help our members navigate the field and focus on those who matter most at a given point in time.
The Cleantech Group 1,000 is a living compilation of organizations, updated each quarter by our analyst teams. A combination of our qualitative assessments, quantitative indicators of success and activity, and our network’s input determines inclusion in the 1,000.
The Cleantech Group 1,000 is a new tool that, used in concert with our other tools such as the Quarterly Insights, Global Cleantech 100, and our frequently-updated Grow, Flow, Slow framework, offers members direction on which sectors are expanding or receding, and who we are watching within those movements.
Well-reflected in this first iteration of our 1,000 list are the areas we believe are poised for the most growth in the coming years. At a glance, approximately 230 Energy & Power companies appear among the 750 innovators included right now. Several trends, and associated innovators, come through clearly today.
Unsurprisingly, many innovators with offerings related to AI infrastructure or data centers are being watched closely by our analysts. At least ten companies on this list have technology specifically for data centers: Accelsius, Asperitas, Iceotope, Liquid Stack, Submer, and ZutaCore on liquid and immersion cooling; Phaidra on AI-driven plant control; Exowatt on thermal-storage-backed power for sites; Watter on waste-heat reuse. This segment barely existed at this density two years ago. It is here because AI training and inference have created the first truly new electricity load in a generation, and hyperscalers are now buying cooling, on-site power, and waste-heat recovery in the same conversation. As covered in our briefing on the EcoLabs acquisition of CoolIT, we expect more exits in this space as incumbents build out their portfolios for end-to-end data center management solutions.
We are also tracking further-afield solutions to data center power supply. Star Catcher and Panthalassa are pioneering space-based and wave-powered data centers, respectively. As covered in our recent briefing on space data centers, the jury is still out on this concept, but in an age of price-inelastic hyperscalers, no avenue can be entirely ruled out.
Discover Cleantech Group's 1000
Available to members only, the Cleantech Group 1,000 is a living compilation of organizations and will be updated each quarter by our analyst teams.