IP Group, a commercialisation firm active in the UK and Australasia, has partnered with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), an Australian government-owned climate investor, to launch the A$50 million Climate Catalyst Fund.
The Climate Catalyst Fund has received A$30 million from IP Group, with the remainder coming from CEFC, which made its cornerstone investment through the Powering Australia Technology Fund.
The fund is looking to attract additional LPs, though a target size has not been disclosed.
The Climate Catalyst Fund will target developers of technology that can decarbonise hard-to-abate industries, making seed and series A investments in Australian startups.
Of particular interest will be cement, steel, and chemicals, as well as minerals processing and the supply chain. Aviation, shipping, and freight are also being targeted, as are energy-efficient AI and data centres; agriculture and land use; and dispatchable energy and grid balancing.
“The global race to decarbonise is driving unprecedented demand for breakthrough technologies, and achieving material emissions reductions will require the largest reallocation of capital in modern history, creating a generational investment opportunity.
“While renewable energy has led the charge, the hard-to-abate sectors (accounting for over 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions) represent the next frontier. These sectors demand transformative innovation, not incremental change.”
Alistair McCreadie, chief investment officer of IP Group Australia
On LinkedIn, Mike Molinari, managing director of IP Group Australia, called on the firm’s university partners to connect with the team if they have relevant cleantech companies in their portfolio.
