Green VC firm Elbow Beach has secured £63m in the first close of its new £80m climate impact fund.
Elbow Beach aims to back up to 36 early-stage British startups via the fund over the next four years, with a focus on technology enabling industries to transition to cost-effective low carbon operations.
The firm will look at investments in AI, carbon capture, electrification and low carbon materials.
“The fund’s strategy is to help match technology against big customer problems and steer companies towards their end markets,” said Jon Pollock, Elbow Beach CEO and managing partner.
“We’re looking at investments including technology that halves energy use for household products like vacuums and dishwashers and improves crop yields through robotics and AI.”
This is the second climate impact fund from Elbow Beach, following its £20m investment vehicle that backed Scottish EV firm Munro Vehicles, Bristolian battery startup Anaphite and Wase, which turns wastewater into energy.
“Being green isn’t enough in isolation – technology will only be adopted if it makes commercial sense,” added Pollock.
“We’re going to help nurture the next generation of founders who are driving real transformation and who have the potential to provide customers with better, more cost-effective solutions at scale.”
The fund, which already has £40m of immediately deployable capital, includes a £50m commitment from the British Business Bank through its Enterprise Capital Funds programme.
Our Enterprise Capital Funds programme is key in helping to develop and maintain effective venture capital provision in the UK, lowering the barriers to entry for emerging fund managers,” said Christine Hockley, managing director and co-head of funds at the British Business Bank.
“Our commitment to Elbow Beach builds on the programme’s track record and will help early-stage Founders in the climate impact sector across the UK to build their businesses.”
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