Such “pre-market engagements” have allowed innovative technologies to rapidly reach commercial markets in other areas, from vaccine development to commercial spaceflight. The same approach could shorten the time to scale for emerging clean technologies and reduce their premiums over more carbon-intensive technologies.
As the demand for clean technologies increases, investments in their sourcing are increasing. President Biden’s bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing more than $20 billion in clean tech demonstration projects, and private venture capital set a record in 2021 topping $40 billion. for climate tech startups.
However, the first half of 2022 has seen a decline in the market value of the technology sector widely, and venture investment in the sectors has slowed. The cold market environment may hurt clean tech companies in the short term, but investing in the sector still looks more sustainable than the “Clean Tech 1.0” bubble a decade ago, when venture capitalists invested $25 billion between 2006 and 2011 but lose half of their money when the dust settles.
In addition to supportive government policies around the world, today’s entrepreneurs have access to a richer ecosystem of innovation. Among the winners of this year’s Under 35 Innovators list are several who have incubated their technology in national laboratories in the United States, secured investment and cooperation from major auto and energy companies, and also fall into the portfolios of so-called “patient capitals” such as Breakthrough Energy. Especially for innovators in the United States, this diverse source of capital can help a company cross the so-called “death valley” and bring a technology from prototype to commercial scale.
In addition to saving the planet, there are well-deserved rewards that await climate innovators. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with $10 trillion under management, called Decarbonizing the economy is “the biggest investment opportunity of our lifetime” and predicts that the next thousands of “unicorns” will be “startups that help the world decarbonize and make the transition affordable energy exchange for all consumers”.
Those on this year’s list are seizing the opportunity. Their success is something we can all receive.
Varun Sivaram is the senior director of clean energy and innovation for US Presidential envoy for climate John Kerry (and a 35 Innovator winner in 2021 and a judge this year). The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent official policy of the United States government.
