Cleantech investment report highlights potential

A study of Australian investment in the emerging cleantech (or clean technologies) sector has found a higher proportion of local cleantech investments in agriculture, energy storage, transportation and water than has been the case in North America and Europe.

Energy generation technologies were found to be popular with cleantech investors, attracting the largest proportion of seed and early stage funding.

The findings of the study are contained in the ‘Australian Cleantech Venture Capital and Private Equity Investments Report: Turning Green into Gold’, released by Cleantech Ventures Pty Ltd, a Melbourne-based specialist venture capital firm targeting investments in the cleantech sector.

Cleantech Ventures co-authored the report with Cleantech Network LLC, a US company considered the world's leading authority on global investments in clean technology operations in North America, Europe and China.

The report presents data on IPOs in Australian cleantech companies between 1999 and 2006, and Australian mergers and acquisitions activity between 2005 and 2006. Venture capital investment data covers the period 1999 to the first quarter of 2007.

Jan Dekker, an investment principal with Cleantech Ventures, said the report is the first comprehensive analysis of cleantech venture capital, buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, and IPO activity in Australia.

“International trends show that cleantech, which brings together technology, environmental and financial performance, is a new force to be taken seriously,” Dekker said.

“The research findings contained in the report indicate that Australia is at the same stage North America was some three years ago, that is, poised for rapid growth in cleantech investments.”

The report is available for download from the Cleantech Ventures website www.cleantechventures.com.au.