Billionaire investors Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Jack Ma and others are pouring billions into clean-tech ventures as renewable-energy technology advances.
As funding for coal- and gas-fired power generation continues to decline, investors long leery of so-called"clean tech" plays are taking a shine to renewable-energy start-ups and other carbon-reducing technologies.
That's why Gates, Bezos, Ma and dozens of other high-net-worth individuals launched Breakthrough Energy Ventures . The $1 billion fund will forgo near-term returns on investments, providing much-needed time and operating capital to researchers and companies solving difficult technical problems in the capital-intensive renewable energy space.
"At the same time, we're seeing electrification of a variety of [industry] sectors worldwide," she added."Then there is an increased focus on sustainability, carbon footprint and climate change." For firms like Malta looking to bring renewable-energy-enabling technologies to market,"circumstances are about as favorable as we can imagine," she said.
Historically, start-ups developing new renewable energy-enabling technologies or developing clean energy projects have experienced difficulty raising funds from institutional investors, in part because of long development timelines and sizable technical risk. But particularly on the project financing side of things, renewable-energy projects suffer from a lack of familiarity.
The models are coming around, however. Earlier this month, BEV invested $12.5 million in Baseload Capital, itself a project investment firm that provides financing to develop geothermal energy projects using new modular technology developed by Baseload's Swedish parent company, Climeon.
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