Australia's first Clean Energy Seed Fund

Artesian Venture Partners has announced the launch of the Clean Energy Seed Fund, said to be the first of its kind in the Australian clean energy space. Set to focus on unearthing and financing emerging innovations and start-ups in clean energy, the $20 million fund has been designed to appeal to high-net-worth individuals and impact investors looking to gain diversified exposure to Australian clean energy start-ups.

Funds available through the Clean Energy Seed Fund will be invested in clean energy start-ups in partnership with established clean energy accelerators. Funds will also be invested in ventures sourced from the broader Australian start-up ecosystem, including other incubators, university programs and angel groups. The fund will invest at seed, angel and later-stage rounds in 30 to 50 start-ups over its four- to five-year investment period.

“The Clean Energy Seed Fund will target scalable, high-growth-potential start-ups, fuelling innovation and creating opportunities in the development of clean technology,” said Artesian Managing Partner Jeremy Colless. “It will look across sectors such as the Internet of Things, energy storage, biofuels, alternative energy generation (solar, wave, geothermal, wind), metering and control, green building and biomaterials, transport technologies, water and waste.”

The seed fund includes a $10 million cornerstone commitment from the Clean Energy Innovation Fund, which draws on finance and skills from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

“The Clean Energy Seed Fund is set to play an important role in building a vibrant and sustainable early-stage clean energy venture pipeline in Australia,” said CEFC CEO Oliver Yates. “The seed fund builds on our ability to accelerate investment across the clean energy sector, channelling finance where it can support the transformation of innovative ideas into business realities.

“The co-investment fund model employed by Artesian Venture Partners encourages collaboration between a wide range of accelerators, incubators, angel groups and university programs, along with the strategic and financial inputs of high-net-worth individuals, corporate, institutional and impact investors. This will ensure CEFC finance can be used to support innovation in energy efficiency, low emissions and renewable energy technologies that fit within our investment mandate for clean energy.”

“ARENA and the CEFC have a long history of successfully working together and the new fund provides us with an additional way to commercialise innovative clean energy projects,” added ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht. “Going forward, the Clean Energy Innovation Fund is well placed to build on the continuing efforts and complementary skills of ARENA and CEFC to accelerate clean energy solutions, emissions reduction and renewable energy technologies.”

Image caption: The CEFC’s Oliver Yates and Artesian’s Jeremy Colless.