Investment in clean technology across Europe outperformed both the US and Asia over the second quarter of 2023, according to data from Cleantech for Europe.
The organisation’s EU Cleantech Defies Global Headwinds briefing document highlighted that late-stage investment on the continent in this sector increased by 104% in the last quarter, even as overall trading volume increased by just 2.9%. It said that while deal volume did decrease slightly, the amounts invested saw a substantial rise. A total of €2.8bn was invested in EU Cleantech in Q2 2023, it added.
Early-stage investment went up by 5.9%, while deal volumes went down by 5.8%. “Hence,” the document’s authors noted, “average EU deal sizes increased across both early-stage and late-stage deals.”
They went on: “European cleantech investment defied global headwinds for venture capital, growing stronger than in North America, while cleantech investment in Asia Pacific fell. The number of deals closed fell slightly from 172 to 165. Late-stage deals volume stayed flat – up from 35 to 36 – whereas early-stage deal volume declined from 137 to 129.”
Late-stage investment – so-called “series B and growth equity” grew the most, the report found – increasing by 104% on the previous quarter, even though deal volume increased by just 2.9%. And it continued: “Early-stage investment increased by 5.9% on last quarter, while deal volume decreased by 5.8%. Hence, average EU deal sizes increased across both early- and late-stage deals. Despite this resilience, EU cleantech investment in the first half of 2023 was 39% lower than in the first half of 2022. This reflects the global contraction of venture capital compared to last year.”
‘Cleantech ecosystem’
The report also drew attention to a number of major developments in what it described as “the cleantech investment ecosystem”, including:
* Convent Capital announcing the second closing of its AgriFood Growth Fund after reaching €100m in April.
* Pale blue dot closing its second fund at €93m in May.
* TotalEnergies selling its TotalEnergies Ventures to Aster in June.
* Just Climate closing its Climate Assets Fund I in June, having raised €1.4bn in institutional capital.
* Eurazeo closing its Eurazeo Smart City Fund II at €400m in July.
* Euclides obtaining $30m (€27.6m) from the European Investment Fund to help it provide growth debt to climate solutions across Europe.
