Understanding Elemental, the accelerator for climate tech

On this week’s Exponential View podcast, I speak to Dawn Lippert, founder and CEO of non-profit climate tech incubator Elemental Excelerator.

Dawn works to speed up the commercialisation of companies fighting climate change, funding them to implement projects, test their viability, and scale up. Elemental Excelerator has 136 portfolio companies, and has funded 81 demonstration projects. It has awarded $49m to companies to date.

Last month, Elemental spun out a $60m venture-capital fund to speed the progress of climate tech companies, while providing access to a rapidly-growing space for investors.

The big idea

Climate tech investment has picked up considerably since the early 2010s, following the bust of the cleantech craze. According to PitchBook, climate tech investors have closed as many climate-focused funds in 2021 as in the previous five years combined; and interestingly, late-stage investing is surging.