US venture capital company investing in early-stage climate innovations Clean Energy Ventures (CEV) has successfully closed its second flagship fund with commitments of $305m.
The fund, which had an initial target of $200m, was oversubscribed. It drew heightened investor interest in technologies aimed at reducing carbon emissions.
The new fund has backing from limited partners including Carbon Equity, the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Builders Vision and New Summit Investments.
The rollout of Fund II comes five years after the launch of CEV's $110m Fund I in 2019. This supported 20 companies in the climate tech sector that are collectively projected to mitigate more than 50 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Clean Energy Ventures co-founder and managing partner Temple Fennell stated: “Demand for climate investment opportunities is rising from all corners of the globe, and we are grateful for the amount of interest from our new and existing LPs [limited partnerships].
“As we look to scale decarbonisation technologies globally, we’re doubling down on our thesis to invest in novel hardware-oriented climate-saving technologies with the potential to bring outsized emissions reductions and top-tier financial returns.”
CEV has already channelled investments from the new fund into six companies, including Israel-based producer of green ammonia Nitrofix, and OXCCU, a UK developer of sustainable aviation fuels.
Other beneficiaries of the fund include Noon Energy, which focuses on long-duration energy storage, Evari, which specialises in compressor technology, and two additional companies currently operating in stealth mode.
Alongside the launch of its second fund, US-based CEV is extending its reach into Europe with the establishment of a new office in London.
CEV co-founder and managing partner David Miller said: “We know our hands-on guidance goes well beyond standard venture capital, through dedicated leadership coaching, strategic marketing, IP development, engineering support and active board participation.
“We are eager to seize this next chapter in our firm’s growth with our second fund and support more early-stage companies with deeply technical, game-changing approaches to decarbonisation.”
