Breakthrough Energy Ventures Archives

Impact Alpha, a news service for "impact" investors, reports on stepped up investment by climate-savvy investors, willing to make long-term bets and data from Cambridge Associates showing a rebound in cleantech returns.

Despite this rosy overview and the addition of a few new climate-focused funds within the last few years, the total venture funding for high-risk, high-impact innovation is well off the 2008 peak. Still, some of the capital being deployed is coming from limited partners with a mission to fight climate change and willingness to be more patient. Some of these are philanthropic donors.

"Everything is moving in the right direction," according to Matthew Nordan, of Prime Impact Fund, a group that raises philanthropic dollars to invest in risky climate ventures that provide "additionality," yet there's still an enormous amount more capital needed, "particularly at the high risk, high impact early innovation stage."

Read Dennis Price's article in ImpactAlpha: "Cleantech venture capital rebounds with smarter, more patient investors."

Published by Nucleation Capital in Asset manager support, Capital reallocation, Climate innovation fund, Corporate decarbonization, Fund sustainability, LINKS, Philanthropic support for nuclear, Venture capital support for nuclear

Peter Diamandis, Chairman and Co-Founder of Singularity University, founder and executive chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation, writes a tech blog. We were sent a copy of the email that he sent out to subscribers on the future of nuclear, which begins as follows:

Yes, I want nuclear energy *in my back yard*!

Extraordinary new innovations are giving us failsafe nuclear fission and the potential to achieve our age-old dream of fusion.

This year, Bill Gates commented: “Nuclear is ideal for dealing with climate change, because it is the only carbon-free, scalable energy source that’s available 24 hours a day. The problems with today’s reactors, such as the risk of accidents, can be solved through innovation.”

This blog is about convincing you to re-consider nuclear as a viable and critical idea. The upside of success is extraordinary, which is why, for the first time, we’re beginning to see venture capital make massive investments in the field.

Let’s dive in!

Read the rest of Diamandis' Tech Blog post: "Energy Abundance: The Future of Nuclear."