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Articles by Cleantech Insights
Under the Surface: APAC's Strategic Shift in Cleantech Investment | Cleantech Group
Just a few months ago, we wrote in our year-end wrap-up newsletter on APAC activity that, while investment numbers had come down to earth following a highly active 2023, what was happening beneath the surface was a growth of the infrastructure necessary to facilitate the next waves of cleantech deployment (high-scale electric mobility, data centers), and also a competition to own innovation of the constituent components in the new cleantech economy (chips, semiconductors).
Ecosystem Spotlight: South Africa’s JETP, International Partnerships, and Prepping for Large-Scale Innovation | Cleantech Group
South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) enters a new phase, with the U.S. withdrawing its support earlier this year. Reaffirmed by existing members through additional funding, the pioneering partnership continues to impact the country’s progress in its energy transition and, by extension, cleantech development.
Eyes in the Sky: How Earth Observation is Revolutionizing Climate Action
Adaptation & Resilience, Cleantech Insights, Resources & Environmental Management | 02 April 2025 Once the exclusive domain of governments and defense agencies, Earth Observation (EO) is now a vital tool for industries tackling climate risks, supply chain management, and regulatory compliance. As climate change accelerates and global regulations tighten, EO technology is transforming how we monitor and respond to environmental challenges.
Wish You Were Here: A Blue Vision at EU’s Blue Invest Day
Earlier this month in Brussels, the future was most definitely blue (… and that is a good thing). Here are some of the takeaways for those who were not there. The Blue Invest Day annual gathering celebrates and supports the growth of the EU ocean/maritime community.
China and the EU: Comparing Two Tech-Forward Plans for the Future of Food Production
The EU and China have each released new strategic plans for the future of their respective agri-food industries in recent weeks. In both cases, details are still thin on the ground. Notably, however, they share some common themes. Both plans appear to emphasize the issue of food security, while environmental sustainability is seemingly acknowledged as being of critical, albeit secondary, importance. Similarly, both plans underline the potential role to be played by innovative cleantech solutions.
Ecosystem Spotlight: Brazil’s Use of Technology Parks to Catalyze Early-Stage Innovation
Cleantech development in emerging markets is inhibited by disorganized local infrastructure and lack of access to technological, financial, physical, and informational resources. Brazil’s approach of fortifying an expansive network of over 80 policy-backed technology parks presents a multi-faceted solution that fills resource gaps for local ecosystem players. Brazil has raised $2.9B in cleantech venture funding in the last five years, driven by activity in agritech and micromobility.
It’s Getting Hot in Here: Climate Resilient Infrastructure to Combat Urban Heat Island Effect
As global temperatures continue to rise, cities are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, where urban areas experience significantly higher temperatures than their rural surroundings. This occurs due to the extensive use of heat-absorbing materials and surfaces in buildings, roads, and pavements, which trap and radiate heat. estimates that deaths from extreme heat could rise by 50% by 2050, emphasizing the urgent need for innovative solutions.
Speeding up Earth’s Natural CO2 Mineralization Cycle Can Recover All of the CO2 from Fossil Fuels
Cleantech Insights, Materials & Chemicals | 25 February 2025 We’ve got all these great solutions capturing carbon, typically from air or industrial emitters. But capture is only half of the problem. What do we do with all that captured carbon? The duration of carbon storage is critical to assessing the life cycle of CO2-derived products and storage capabilities. Synthetic fuels derived from captured CO2 are typically recombusted within one year of being captured.
How the Insurance Sector Can Further Enable Cleantech Scaling
Adaptation & Resilience, Cleantech Insights, Cleantech Insurance, Resources & Environmental Management | 20 February 2025 The insurance sector is the leading authority on risk, while scaling cleantech requires a deep understanding of risk and risk mitigation. As such, we have observed increasing synergy between cleantech and the Insurance sector. Cleantech Group recently researched the innovations and partnerships which are aligning the insurance industry with new climate realities.
AI in Waste Sortation: Robotics, Algorithms, & More
Cleantech Insights, Waste & Recycling | 18 February 2025 Innovation in waste management comes in bursts. Today, the promise of automation through artificial intelligence (AI) offers waste managers a brief window to fundamentally restructure their operations at an unprecedented pace.
APAC: What We Learned from 2024 and What It Means for 2025
In 2024, the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) saw a relative cooling off period after the meteoric growth experienced in 2023. The Energy & Power industry group’s stunning 2023, underpinned by Chinese innovation in solar and battery technology, came back down to Earth in 2024. However, focusing on this apparent drop-off risks missing two bigger takeaways: Many of these companies are more bankable now and less reliant on equity (see the 2024 debt statistics for Energy & Power.
Postcard Perspectives from the Asia-Pacific Region | Southeast Asia | Part II
In this quarter’s Postcard Perspectives, our guest contributors were reacting to the open questions: What kind of year do you expect in 2025 for cleantech, from your perspective, from where you are in the world? What trends/topics are you particularly paying attention to, and why? In Part I we profiled interesting comments from our network in China and India. This issue brings us insight from a number of Singapore-based investors, whose interests and perspectives are pan-regional.
Postcard Perspectives from the Asia-Pacific Region | China & India | Part I
The world is much bigger than just the U.S. and Trump’s “America First” agenda. Our first quarterly bulletin from the Asia-Pacific region in 2025 is focused on providing you with some perspectives on the year ahead from cleantech players across Asia. They see the world differently. We have contributions this quarter from China and India, as well as from a number of Singapore-based investors, whose interests and perspectives are pan-regional.
AI is About to Massively Accelerate Innovation in Crop Inputs
Demand for food is surging, with projections indicating that crop production must nearly double by 2050 to sustain the global population. Chemical crop inputs such as pesticides, fertilizers, and biostimulants drive efficiency in crop production by improving plant nutrition and providing protection against pests and diseases. These inputs have historically advanced agricultural productivity.
Record $371.9M Raised for Low-Carbon Cement in 2024, But $20B Needed by 2030
Cleantech Insights, Materials & Chemicals | 28 January 2025 Second only to water, concrete is the most consumed material on Earth with an annual production of approximately 4 billion tons. The industry is responsible for 7% — 8% of global anthropogenic emissions and over 3% of the total global energy production. Ninety percent of concrete’s emissions come from its primary ingredient, cement, that produces 1 ton of CO2 per ton of cement.
Agtech Insights: The Importance of Strategics on Your Company’s Cap Table
Agriculture & Food, Cleantech Insights | 23 January 2025 Last November’s Thrive Global Impact Summit brought together several hundred entrepreneurs, investors, and senior executives in Silicon Valley for a day of debate around pressing issues in the agrifoodtech space.
The Innovator Network Behind India’s Electrification of Transport
Earlier this month the 2025 Global Cleantech 100 was launched, identifying 100 cleantech companies most likely to make a significant impact in the coming years and providing key trends and forward-looking analysis for the year to come. Overall investment in the Transportation & Logistics (T&L) industry group remained steady from 2023 despite the slight overall decline in venture investment in cleantech as a whole.
Industrial Heat Pumps Ready to Scale Up
Cleantech Insights, Energy & Power | 14 January 2025 Industrial heat is a major source of CO2 emissions, contributing to around 7 GT globally (around 20% of all emissions). While much of this comes from high temperature heat, such as process heat used in steel or concrete making, low temperature heat below 250°C is a major source of global CO2 emissions, accounting for around 7%.
Geoengineering: Focus on Cloud Seeding
Geoengineering solutions are large-scale interventions to counteract the effects of climate change. The most established of solutions are carbon capture technologies, which seek to actively remove carbon from the atmosphere, e.g., carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) or ocean alkalinity enhancement. Are geoengineering solutions the magic bullet?
Decarbonizing the Chemical Industry: The Role of CO2 Electrolysis
Cleantech Insights, Materials & Chemicals | 02 December 2024 The chemical industry is a significant contributor to global CO2 emissions, accounting for approximately 3% of total emissions. Key chemicals produced in the sector—such as ethylene, methanol, and propylene—are essential for industries ranging from plastics and textiles to energy.
Alternatives to PFAS in Textiles and Agriculture
Cleantech Insights, Materials & Chemicals | 22 November 2024 As reported in September’s What are PFAS? blog, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a series of man-made chemicals used across packaging, cookware, fabrics, cosmetics, electronics, and medical equipment manufacturing.
Postcard Perspectives from the Asia-Pacific Region
Cleantech Insights, Companies | 14 November 2024 Cleantech Group has been committed to global cleantech innovation, believing great solutions can come from anywhere and knowing that we need to achieve decarbonization and environmental protection everywhere, to successfully stave off the self-inflicted climate crisis threatening to overwhelm us, like the boiled frog.
8 Cleantech Companies to Watch from the Asia-Pacific Region
Cleantech Insights, Companies | 14 November 2024 Cleantech Group’s new quarterly ‘Companies to Watch’ feature will shine a light on innovation in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region for our international audiences. In this debut edition, guest contributors highlight eight companies to watch – from Australia, China, India, Japan, and Singapore.
Innovation Through Collaboration in the Maritime Sector
The future was most definitely blue at the Smart City Expo in Barcelona last week. The Tomorrow Blue Economy event featured the latest trends in ports innovation, community building, and sustainability. The tone was resolute and the actions towards a decarbonized future quite tangible. Let’s remember that overall, the shipping industry generates 3% of global CO2 emissions (940 million tons of CO2), a number estimated to double by 2050.
Asia Pacific’s Cleantech Investment Monitor
Cleantech Insights, Energy & Power, Nuclear Fusion, Transportation & Logistics, Waste & Recycling | 12 November 2024 Asia-Pacific’s cleantech dynamic through 2024 has marked an ecosystem preparing for a pivot to the next sectors of promise as the powerhouse sectors of the past few years (solar, batteries) have exited the equity financing continuum into bankable scalability.
How to Decarbonize Aviation? Beyond SAF—Key Pathways to Zero Emissions Flight | Cleantech Group
The aviation sector finds itself on the brink of a sustainability transition. This is not a surprise. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO´s) carbon offsetting scheme CORSIA came into effect in 2019, requiring airlines to monitor and report emissions. The first (voluntary) offsetting phase begins this year and will run until 2026 and in 2027 offsetting mandates come into play for most international flights.
Unlocking Value and Trust in Carbon Offsets: The Role of MRV Innovation
As the carbon offset market grows, the importance of accurate, transparent, and scalable monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems cannot be overstated. For a market that faces rising scrutiny over credibility, MRV innovation offers a pathway to a more robust, trustworthy carbon offset system.
Insect Farming: Making the Leap from Protein Pipedream to Bio-commodities
There was a time, not so long ago, when insects were being touted as the solution to food’s emissions problem. The logic went like this: If we all switched from eating cows and sheep to eating bugs and grubs, then we’d eliminate much of the massive methane footprint of livestock agriculture while also handily finding a way to upcycle the sector’s vast amount of organic waste.
Solvent Dissolution, Next Gen Advanced Plastic Recycling
Cleantech Insights, Waste & Recycling | 09 October 2024 Plastic production is expected to double by 2050. Similarly, plastic-related emissions are expected to double by 2060. Sustainable disposal of plastic waste presents an especially daunting challenge as the annual volume of plastic waste is set to triple by 2060. With the mounting volume of plastic waste and related environmental impact, where do recycling technologies fit in curbing this growing issue?
What are PFAS? | Cleantech Group
PFAS is an abbreviation for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They are man-made chemicals widely used in packaging, cookware, fabrics, cosmetics, electronics, and medical equipment since the 1950s. The class contains more than 12,000 chemicals, prized for their ability to repel water, grease, and stains. PFAS’ chemical structure is incredibly strong and resistant to degradation. It therefore degrades slowly and builds up in water, soil, air, and organisms after each exposure.
Adaptation and Resilience: New Innovation & Venturing Opportunities for a 2° World
Climate change is here and the longer we leave adaptation, the more expensive and difficult resilience is. Because of this, Cleantech Group is intentionally focusing on innovation for adaptation and resilience against climate-related risks. Our research team has been hard at work dissecting topics including grid resilience, crop inputs, wildfire resilience, and climate risk analysis systems.
A New Generation of EVs to Hit the Road: Innovation in EV Motors
According to the IEA, 2023 was a record year for EV sales, reaching almost 14M car sales or 18% of all cars sold. 2024 promises continued growth, with EV sales up 25% in Q1’24 compared to Q1’23. Market share of EVs could reach up to 45% in China, 25% in Europe, and 11% in the U.S. These promising statistics do not reflect the underlying challenges and tensions in the EV sector.
APAC’s Cleantech Frontier: How 2024’s Innovations are Shaping Global Trends
In 2023 we observed APAC-based cleantech innovators – especially Chinese solar and energy storage companies – take a quantum leap in manufacturing and deployment growth. The maturity of demand signals in key APAC markets catalyzed a palpable sense of confidence in the next generation of APAC-born Energy & Power innovators, who took home more than 10% of all venture and growth investments globally.
Powering Tomorrow: Breakthroughs in Fusion Have Transformative Impacts on Other Industries
As investment into fusion energy has risen dramatically over the last few years, developments in the fusion process, materials, and supply chain are not only pushing the boundaries for reactors but also creating new opportunities for integration and application across various industries. This is impactful because adding an additional customer base to the existing pool of fusion players driving demand for supplies can further drive commercialization for specific and niche parts.
Why is Polypropylene (PP) So Difficult to Recycle?
Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most common plastic types in the world. In the U.S., PP plastic is marked with the number 5 plastic resin identification code on the bottom of packaging. It is the second most manufactured plastic after polyethylene, composing around 17% of annual global plastic production. As a food-safe plastic with high flexibility and puncture resistance, PP has extensive applications in snack and medication packaging as well as manufacturing.
The Emerging Blue Economy – Baseline Study Findings | Cleantech Group
Cleantech Group’s baseline study of the global blue economy innovation ecosystem first sought to explain what the blue economy is in a cleantech context, and then to analyze the demand pull, supply of innovation, investment, and technology trends. The goal is to ultimately identify opportunities, challenges, and gaps to achieve systemic change. The oceans are essential to our planetary health, society, and economy. The annual gross marine product of the oceans is estimated to be $2.5T per year.
Digital Tools Accelerate Materials Discovery
Cleantech Insights, Materials & Chemicals | 15 August 2024 We have the privilege of overabundance of data and big data from a combination of research institutions, company projects, field experiments, etc. The challenge now: how do we process and translate this data into real-world applications to discover new materials? We can’t expect to find the next-generation of materials the way we discovered penicillin—by chance. In 2022, the total revenue of the global chemicals industry topped $5.72T.
The Electrolyzer Ecosystem: Disruptive Innovations from Advanced Ionics and Newtrace
The electrolyzer market, crucial for the production of green hydrogen, has traditionally been dominated by four main types: Alkaline (AEL) Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM), and to some extent, Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cells (SOEC) While these technologies have been pivotal in the growth of hydrogen production, there has been an emergence of start-ups pioneering innovative approaches that address the inherent limitations of these traditional systems.
High Efficiency, High Costs: Is There Space for Solid Oxide Electrolyzers in the Hydrogen Industry?
Solid oxide electrolyzers (SOECs) are emerging to be a hot topic in the world of energy. They use a solid ceramic material to split water into hydrogen and oxygen at extremely high temperatures (600°C to 850°C). Due to the high operating temperature, they are also highly efficient, hitting energy efficiency levels between 80-100%.
We’re Going Underground: New Advent for Geothermal Drilling
Cleantech Insights, Energy & Power | 10 July 2024 It has been a pivotal year for the geothermal sector. Innovator Fervo Energy demonstrated a 70% reduction in drilling time at its campaign in Utah, a significant breakthrough for the industry that has been mainly held back by high project risks and high drilling costs.
Ports: Kingmakers of Maritime Shipping Decarbonization
Maritime shipping is a key stage of the global freight supply chain, transporting between 80% and 90% of global freight. It is also a critical target for decarbonization, responsible for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This could rise up to 17% of global emissions by 2050, as maritime traffic is projected to increase by 240% — 1,200% by 2050.
What’s in Store for ’24? A Quick Midyear Revisit
Halfway through the year and fresh off London Climate Action Week, where I spent most of my time at the excellent Breakthrough Energy Summit, I felt inspired to take stock and revisit the “What’s in Store for 24?” piece I wrote at the start of the year. As July begins, where are we? What kind of year is 2024 proving to be for global cleantech innovation? In italics, you will find excerpts from the original “What’s in Store for 24?” piece, each with a quick halfway comment in blue.
Onshore vs. Offshore Desalination: Navigating the Future of Water Supply
In a world grappling with increasing water scarcity, desalination has emerged as a vital solution in the water management toolbox. As technological advancements continue, the focus has shifted towards optimizing desalination methods and integrating renewable energy sources. This blog delves into the comparative aspects of onshore and offshore desalination, highlighting the transformative potential of renewable energy in driving these processes.
Battery Recycling
From 2023 to 2040, global demand for lithium will grow 870%, 210% for nickel, 390% for graphite, and 220% for cobalt. Due to this surge, we anticipate a parallel growth in the battery recycling industry through several distinct, potentially non-competitive technologies. Battery recycling directly reduces mining demand, especially in markets like the European Union or the U.S. with limited mining or refining of critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
Adaptation & Resilience: Part II
In Part I, I discussed how adaptation remains a side topic in climate and I focused on innovation for wildfires and flooding. Now, let’s shift the focus to grid resiliency, droughts, and extreme heat. Electricity grids are facing a dual challenge of increasing demand and increasing physical threats.
Adaptation and Resilience - Part I
Adaptation & Resilience, Cleantech Insights, Climate Change, Resources & Environmental Management | 24 June 2024 At the beginning of this year, Cleantech Group made an intentional effort to put a stronger focus on innovation for adaptation to and resilience against climate-related events. Our research team has been hard at work dissecting topics including grid resilience, crop inputs, wildfire resilience, and climate risk analysis systems.
Cell-Free Biomanufacturing: Decentralized Approach for Fuels & Chemicals Synthesis
Cleantech Insights, Materials & Chemicals | 20 June 2024 Chemicals manufacturing consumes approximately 10% of fossil fuels produced globally and expensive heavy metal or rare earth catalysts, the latter known to be increasingly expensive due to limited supply availability. While chemicals production via fossil fuels is successful, over 935 Mt were produced globally in 2022 or approximately 1.3 tons of CO2 produced per ton of primary chemicals, e.g., ethylene, (IEA 2023).
Technologies Improving Grid Resiliency are Needed to Respond to a Changing Climate
Cleantech Insights, Energy & Power | 13 June 2024 According to Climate Central, between 2000 and 2023, 80% of all U.S. power outages were due to weather-related events. Additionally, it was recorded that there were at least two times more weather-related outages in the latter half of the decade (between 2014 and 2023) than the first 10 years (2000-2009).
Innovation Diversity: Celebrating Cleantech Pride
Cleantech Insights, Corporates in Cleantech | 10 June 2024 The future of cleantech has been fueled by inclusive innovation. Cleantech Group is proud to honor the many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and more (LGBTQ+) leaders in cleantech in celebration of June Pride month and throughout the year and we will continue to feature some of the innovators and investors that stand out.
The Future of Autonomy is Here, and it's not Robotaxis | Cleantech Group
Cleantech Insights, Transportation & Logistics | 06 June 2024 Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have captured public imagination for years, conjuring science-fiction-worthy images of self-driving cars, buses, and hovercrafts. In recent years, driverless vehicle technologies have cruised from utopian science fiction to reality as autonomous software solutions hit the market and autonomy-enabled vehicles hit the streets.
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