EIT InnoEnergy, the innovation engine for sustainable energy across Europe supported by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, has been ranked by global policy advisory and research giant Startup Genome as one of the world’s leading impact investors and the top investor in Europe. Many big name insurers are looking to shift pension/Life fund contributions into investment vehicles that tick the green box, so it’s going to be important to make sure these projects are regulated and meet internationally agreed standards and benchmarks. Support from EU-funded bodies will also help smooth the way, so it’s well worth using sites like this to spot cleantech start-ups.
EIT InnoEnergy was selected in recognition of its role in supporting over 480 cleantech start-ups since 2010. It’s current equity portfolio of more than 200 companies, is estimated to potentially generate €72.8 billion in revenue and reduce the world’s annual carbon footprint by 1.1G tons by 2030. These include major disruptive innovations from floating wind technologies to those that deliver AI-driven energy saving and balancing of the grid.
Startup Genome has advised 40 governments on start-up ecosystem strategies, and its landmark Global Startup Ecosystem Report: Cleantech Edition, highlights the world’s leading start-up ecosystems, tech incubators and impact investors helping combat climate change. The global report pinpointed the US and Europe as the world’s two greatest green tech innovation hubs, both of which are locations where EIT InnoEnergy provides support to a range of portfolio companies. The listing represents continued momentum from EIT InnoEnergy as a global sustainable investment powerhouse and follows recognition from Pitchbook in 2021 of the company holding the top early-stage energy transition investor since 2015.
The Startup Genome ranking follows EIT InnoEnergy’s recent pioneering partnership with Volkswagen Group to help find and foster innovations supporting the decarbonisation of transport. Other shareholders around the world followed suit, with global financial institution ING becoming the first financial shareholder in the company earlier this year, which will provide vital international support for EIT InnoEnergy’s global portfolio. The company also signed a recent partnership with global real estate giant, GROUPE IDEC (IDEC), which will help to decarbonise the construction sector – a market segment that currently contributes 38% of the world’s carbon emissions.
Elena Bou, Innovation Director at EIT InnoEnergy said: “There are many start-ups developing innovative solutions to accelerate the energy transition, but they often fall victim to the notorious ‘valley of death’ between research and the market. Successfully scaling up disruptive innovations is critical to achieving global net zero ambitions and ensuring our sector continues to thrive economically. Impact investment is crucial, but we also provide a whole ecosystem of support to the businesses we work with. Our added strength comes from our wide network of 500+ strategic partners and shareholders which enable us to pull resources and multiply efforts to support a broader range of global innovations.”
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