New Research Concludes EU will Miss Climate Goals Unless Cleantech Innovation Is Scaled
23.3.2021 12:37:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Newly-published research from Cleantech Group®, the global authority on clean technology innovation, with the support of Breakthrough Energy, found the EU’s venture capital investment into cleantech from 2011-2020 grew by a remarkable 7.5x to more than EUR 5 billion in 2020.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210323005539/en/
EU Cleantech Venture Capital Investment grew by 7.5x between 2011 and 2020 (Cleantech Group)
But research also discovered progress is concentrated on early-stage development and lacks scale-up investment and policy support. The EU attracted 23% of global cleantech seed-stage funding in 2020, but only 7% of global cleantech growth equity funding (compared to 54% for North America). The EU risks missing key climate targets by failing to scale clean technologies and letting promising innovators scale in North America and Asia instead.
Cleantech for Europe is a new initiative launched by Cleantech Group®, with the support of Breakthrough Energy, to help the EU lead the global clean transformation through targeted research and recommendations on EU cleantech investment and policy. The initiative connects EU policy makers to entrepreneurs and investors.
Its first position paper, published today, Making Fit for 55 a green demand shock to scale EU cleantech, analyses the EU cleantech landscape. It advocates for leveraging the EU’s upcoming Fit for 55 regulatory package to create leadership in five key innovation sectors: green hydrogen, green steel, low-carbon construction materials, sustainable aviation and soil carbon. The paper makes the case for a green demand shock that would pull EU innovators to continental scale and maximize climate impact.
“The EU’s climate future is at a crossroads. Deploying mature technologies such as solar and wind can only take us halfway. To lead the race to net zero, and gain a competitive advantage for decades, the EU needs a green demand shock to scale early-stage clean technologies” said Jules Besnainou, Director, Cleantech Group.
“With the forthcoming ‘Fit for 55’ package, the EU will update almost all of its energy and climate legislation, changing the policy framework for a long time to come. With investment cycles averaging 25 years, what happens in 2050 is essentially being decided today. The stakes couldn’t be higher as only a new generation of clean technologies can lead Europe towards climate neutrality. That is why this study sheds light on persistent challenges in the European innovation ecosystem that urgently need to be addressed – from lack of growth equity and weak demand signals for green products to poor exit routes for successful entrepreneurs” said Ann Mettler, Vice President, Europe, Breakthrough Energy.
Link to research: https://www.cleantechforeurope.com/
About Cleantech Group
At Cleantech Group, we provide research, consulting and events to catalyze opportunities for sustainable growth powered by innovation. We bring clients access to the trends, companies and people shaping the future and the customized advice and support businesses need to engage external innovation. Industries are undergoing definitive transitions toward a more digitized, de-carbonized and resource-efficient industrial future. At every stage from initial strategy to final deals, our services bring corporate change makers, investors, governments and stakeholders from across the ecosystem, the support they need to thrive in this fast-arriving and uncertain future.
The company was established in 2002 and is headquartered in San Francisco with people based in London, Paris and Boston.
About Breakthrough Energy
Founded by Bill Gates, Breakthrough Energy is dedicated to helping humanity avoid a climate disaster. Through investment vehicles, philanthropic programs, policy advocacy, and other activities, we’re committed to scaling the technologies we need to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. For more information about Breakthrough Energy visit breakthroughenergy.org.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210323005539/en/
Contact information
Jules Besnainou
Director, Cleantech Group
hello@cleantechforeurope.com
+33 6 23 12 00 08
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Qorium Becomes Reyva as Cultivated Leather Company Moves Towards Commercial Scale2.11.2026 12:00:00 EET | Press release
Qorium, the company that develops cultivated real leather, today announces that it is becoming Reyva. The new name and identity mark its next stage: moving from a pioneering technology business towards a global material brand built for the exacting standards of the luxury leather sector. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261102661351/en/ Reyva creates beautiful, high-performing real leather. By cultivating leather in uniform sheets, we can move beyond the natural limits of traditional hides, with greater control over its shape, size, thickness and structure. Reyva sample photography by Laurent Stevens Reyva grows collagen directly from animal cells and cultivates it through a proprietary process to create uniform sheets. The resulting material is then tanned to become real leather, made from the same natural material that gives conventional leather its strength, breathability and durability. It does so without t
Ant International Research Highlights How Readable AI Memories Can Unlock More Personalised, Privacy-conscious Consumer Experiences2.11.2026 10:52:00 EET | Press release
Human sales and customer representatives have institutional memories to serve clients: their preferences and choices. How can we build a memory mechanism for AI services to create similarly personalised experiences? Ant International’s research on this subject recently received the Senior Area Chair (SAC) Highlight Award from the Best Paper Committee at EMNLP 2026, a leading global AI conference. Why do we need “readable AI memory”? In this paper titled 'Text as a universal interface for transferable personalisation', we look into one fact: until now, AI memory of a user has usually been generated and stored as dense numerical code only the original system can interpret. Two long-standing problems with that: First, today's user profiles are "black boxes" — opaque code locked inside a single app, so activity in one service teaches nothing to another, and every product has to re-learn you from scratch. Second, profiles are welded to the model that created them, so they don't transfer whe
Car Connectivity Consortium Expands Focus on Digital Access for Two-Wheelers and Micromobility2.11.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
The Car Connectivity Consortium® (CCC), the global organization advancing interoperable connectivity between vehicles and devices, today highlighted its expanding work across the two-wheeler and micromobility markets ahead of EICMA 2026 in Milan, Italy. Through its Light Motor & Mobility Task Group (LMTG), CCC is bringing member companies together to address the distinct digital access needs of these markets and identify opportunities to advance standardization and interoperability. Key highlights of CCC's two-wheeler and micromobility work include: Addressing two-wheeler digital access needs: LMTG is examining requirements across motorcycles, scooters, e-bikes and other two- and three-wheeled vehicles. Exploring new applications for digital key technology: Member discussions include vehicle access and starting, access to vehicle components, and digital key sharing. Building broader industry participation: CCC will engage with manufacturers and technology companies at EICMA 2026 to dis
Liberis and Qred Complete Merger Following Regulatory Approval to Create Global SMB Financial Platform2.11.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Liberis, a leading global embedded finance platform, and Qred, one of Europe’s foremost digital small business banks, today announced the completion of their merger, first announced in June 2026, following approval from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (SFSA). The merger combines Qred’s regulated banking capability and direct relationships with small businesses with Liberis’s embedded finance technology and distribution through more than 30 partners, including Deliveroo, Vagaro and Nexi. The group serves more than 60,000 small businesses across 17 countries and has access to approximately 11.5 million addressable merchants. Qred’s deposit-funded banking model and direct customer relationships complement Liberis’s partner-led distribution. Together, the businesses bring two routes to small business finance: through a regulated bank and through platforms that businesses already use. The group’s ambition is to broaden the financial services available to small businesses and its
OpenGate Capital Completes the Acquisition of Maersk Training, the Global Safety Training and Gas Safety Services Business of Maersk2.11.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
OpenGate Capital (“OpenGate”), a global private equity firm, announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Maersk Training and its subsidiary Maersk H2S Safety Services. The company, a provider of global safety training and gas safety services, is being carved out from A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S (MAERSK A:CPH), a listed integrated logistics company. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Headquartered in Svendborg, Denmark, Maersk Training is a leading global provider of essential safety services and training. Through Maersk H2S Safety Services, the company provides specialized outsourced hydrogen sulphide and Health, Safety and Environment safety services for customers in high-risk operating environments. The H2S Safety Services team provides onsite supervision, monitoring and safety equipment maintenance where the safety of personnel and the protection of assets are critical. Through its training business, the company also delivers safety training, competency developmen
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom