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VC investment in clean-tech plummets – Ernst & Young
Clean-tech firms raised $277 million in the first quarter of the year, down 63% compared to the same period last year, Ernst & Young said, based on data from Dow Jones Venture Source. The number of deals was also down by 48%, to 24 deals. Meanwhile, total VC investment in all sectors was down 50%, said the analysis firm's global research director for clean-tech, John de Yonge. The drop is even more drastic when compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, when $994 million was invested in clean-tech firms by VCs, according to Ernst & Young. "What we saw in 2008, which really drove the numbers, was a spurt of solar companies which had reached a later stage and which raised really large later stage rounds as they entered commercial production," added de Yonge. But Joseph Muscat, Americas director of clean-tech at Ernst & Young, said that there are “points of light” for clean-tech firms going forward, particularly from the stimulus packages. “While the timing of the receipt of government funding is uncertain, we expect that loan guarantees and other government financing structures, as well as corporate adoption rates of clean technologies, will be early indicators of an upward investment cycle.” The five biggest deals accounted for 62% of capital raised during the quarter, Ernst & Young said. The biggest single deal was US lithium battery manufacturer A123 Systems, which raised $69 million from investors including GE. Energy storage firms attracted the most capital, with $114 million raised, compared to $50 million in the first quarter of 2008. But investment in energy and electricity generation was down 73% on last year, with VCs investing $53 million. Of this, $48 million went to solar firms. And one deal, the financing of solar thermal developer eSolar, accounted for $40 million of this figure. The Cleantech Group last month said that VCs invested $1 billion globally in the first quarter, in 81 companies. It also reported a slump in VC investments, by 41% on the same quarter last year and by 48% on the previous quarter. For more news and articles visit www.environmental-finance.com or subscribe to Environmental Finance.
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