The 46 climate-tech startups that VCs say are set to pop in 2021
BUSINESS INSIDER by Benji Jones
Wed, December 30, 2020, 10:23 AM EST
VCs are pouring money into climate-tech startups developing everything from batteries to machines that capture carbon emissions.
We asked 15 top firms and incubators, from Khosla Ventures to Greentown Labs, which startups they think are set to soar in the year ahead.
They shared 46 companies, which are developing wildly different technologies. The full list is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.
Do you have feedback or a story tip? Reach out to this reporter at bjones@businessinsider.com.
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A decade ago, clean tech was a dirty word. Venture capital investors burned billions betting on solar panels, batteries, and biofuels, causing them to retreat from the industry.
Now the clean-tech industry is roaring once more, though many investors have given it a new label: Climate tech.
VCs have poured almost $16 billion into the sector already this year, according to clean-tech data PitchBook shared with Business Insider. That's up from an average of about $5.6 billion per year between 2008 and 2016. And 6 cents of every VC dollarspent last year went towards climate tech, a PwC report shows.
There's some fear that the sector could go bust again. But this time around, what industry professionals call cleantech 2.0 is "fundamentally different," according to Emily Kirsch, the CEO and founder of Powerhouse, a cleantech innovation firm and venture fund.
For one, a spate of major corporations including oil companies and tech firms have committed to lowering their emissions over the next three decades, Kirsch said. Meanwhile, the cost of renewable energy has fallen dramatically.
The incoming US administration has shown strong support for clean energy to boot.
"We've never been more excited about the state of climate technology than we are now," Kirsch said.
