Cleantech for Italy

Many thanks to La Repubblica and Gabriella Rocco for reporting on our data about the evolution of the Italian #cleantech ecosystem, alongside cleantech innovators and investors such as Energy Dome, Limenet, Eoliann, MITO Technology, 360 Capital, NEVA SGR, and TechEnergy Ventures. With this level of ambition, we see growing momentum around the opportunity to make cleantech one of the pillars of the industrial revolution needed to enhance Italy’s #energy #security and #competitiveness in global markets.

We are glad to announce that our Q3 2024 State of the Italian Cleantech Ecosystem report, produced in partnership with MITO Technology, has just been released! Download link in the first comment. Some insights: 📈 Growth: €110.7m raised through Q3 2024, with October projections hitting €151.7m YTD — the highest for that month in five years. 🔋 Sector Spotlight: Manufacturing & Construction lead the way, securing 34.6% of total investments. 💡 Early-Stage Momentum: Pre-seed and Seed deals dominate, with €2.5m average deal sizes, reflecting a cautious yet vibrant market. 🏆 Top Deals in Q3 and Q4 (until October): HBI - Fair Sustainable Innovations BeDimensional S.p.A., Renewcast, xFarm Technologies, i-Foria Italia, Tau Group, Foreverland Food, Green Future Project, Rewind Turbine

⭐Stellar News for Energy Dome⭐   We have just signed our first U.S. supply contract with Alliant Energy, representing a significant milestone for the commercial-scale deployment of our innovative CO2 Battery technology.   And this will be just the first of many CO2 Batteries that we’ll install in collaboration with Alliant!   Full press release here: https://shorturl.at/bL2XA   The Columbia Energy Storage Project, powered by our 20MW/200MWh CO2 Battery, will provide reliable and affordable energy for approximately 18,000 homes in Wisconsin, establishing a new standard for the industry.   This project demonstrates our commitment to driving the energy transition and highlights the potential of our CO2 Battery to address the growing demand for clean and sustainable energy solutions.   This partnership, bolstered by an up-to-$30 million Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Energy, reinforces the strength of our technology and its ability to address the challenges of grid reliability and affordability.   We are proud to collaborate with Alliant Energy in their mission to deliver sustainable energy solutions to the communities they serve so well.   #EnergyDome #OurWorldCantWait #sustainability #longdurationenergystorage #innovation #CO2Battery #decarbonization #LDES #renewables

Last week in Milan, we brought together over 30 investors and founders to chart the future of Cleantech for Italy and begin shaping our 2025 work plan. It was inspiring to witness the Italian cleantech community's dedication to driving industrial leadership and competitiveness. Here are some key insights from our discussion: 💰 Italy needs more blended finance instruments to accelerate the #industrialization of late-stage scaleups. These include but are not limited to grants and incentives. Initiatives such as Breakthrough Energy Catalyst demonstrate how private and public capital can work hand in hand to support critical technology demonstrations. 🏦 #Bankability is pivotal for unlocking the capital flows needed to scale cleantech champions. Public #guarantees and sector-specific #offtaking frameworks are essential, especially in a country like Italy, with its robust industrial base. However, we must enhance the dialogue between established companies and scaleups to drive cleantech #adoption. ⚖️ Public #procurement should embrace openness and include emerging technologies with national and European strategic relevance. These solutions are not only competitive with current alternatives but can also spur job creation and de-risk supply chains. 🧪 #Technology #transfer remains critical to make sure that the research efforts carried out by public and private organizations are translated into promising technologies and viable business opportunities. Simplifying and harmonizing existing frameworks is the first, crucial step to simplify this process. 🚛 #Trade and #competition policy is key to ensuring European innovators have a level playing field. Strengthening EU partnerships and shifting towards an "EU in the world" approach will create better market conditions for cleantech innovations globally. Looking forward to taking these insights forward as we shape the next steps for Cleantech for Italy! The momentum is building and, with continued collaboration, we can turn these #ambitions into #action. Federico Cuppoloni Julia Reinaud Alberto Toril Jules Besnainou John Lemmon Lucy Chatburn Michele Torsello Claudio Spadacini Francesco Oppici Alessandra Accogli Stefano Cappello Matteo Bertocchi Francesco Taiariol Stefano Babbini Giacomo Zenoni Alberto Calvo Leonardo Massa Guido Bocchio Lorenzo Congiu Stefano Peroncini Alessandro Santo Andrea Casasco Francesco Fontana Andrea Galassi David I. Bassani Alessandra Scotti Radiosa Romani Elena Martelli Susanna Potenza Michele Morabito Federico Giannetti, PhD Jan Palasinski

Finally wrapping up an insightful climate session at Italian Tech Week in Turin! 📈 Leonardo Massa and I explored the main challenges across a cleantech startup's life cycle and provided an update on the state of the Italian cleantech ecosystem. In short: as of Q3 2024, despite the lack mega-rounds, we are in line with the last couple of years. There's a strong presence of pre-seed and seed rounds, and the median deal size went from €0.8m (2023 FY) to €0.6m (2024 YTD). 🏭 Alessandro Izzo, Alberto Toril, Francesco Taiariol and I discussed the critical challenge of scaling up cleantech champions. From lending criteria to industrial partnerships, from facilitating offtake agreements to crafting an industrialization strategy, we covered some of the most pressing issues in the European cleantech agenda. 🚢 Claudio Cisilino and I took a deep dive into FINCANTIERI’s efforts to decarbonize the maritime industry through enhanced efficiency. We discussed the pivotal role of offtake agreements in driving innovation in sustainable fuels and how regional differences could shape the future of this emerging market. 🔋 Finally, Virginia Pigato had an insightful chat with Dr. Dirk Abendroth and Rick Costantino on batteries and the critical market for energy storage solutions. They emphasized the need for innovation not only in battery chemistry and design but also across manufacturing and supply chains. Special thanks to the Vento team (Diyala, Isabella, Martina, Camilla and Marco) for having us and congratulations on organizing such an extraordinary event! Looking forward to an even more ambitious climate session next year! European Investment Bank (EIB) Breakthrough Energy Cleantech for Europe Tau Group Cleantech for Italy FINCANTIERI Group14 Technologies CustomCells Exor Ventures OGR Torino GEDI Gruppo Editoriale MITO Technology

⏰ TIME TO SCALE: CLEANTECH AND POLITICAL LEADERS CALL FOR SWIFT ACTION ON EU COMPETITIVENESS ⏰   ⭐ #CleantechforEuropeSummit was back in Brussels yesterday! This year’s event brought together #policy, #cleantech and #investment leaders, and focused on how to urgently scale Europe’s cleantech #manufacturing sector, which is crucial to the EU’s long-term #competitiveness.   🎤 The event opened with a keynote by European Parliament Vice-President Martin Hojsik who highlighted the urgency to move from words to action on scaling Europe’s domestic cleantech manufacturing sector.   🏭 Cleantech and political leaders shared their views on how to accelerate EU competitiveness, in particular with the upcoming ‘Clean Industrial Deal’ announced in EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's Political Guidelines Kurt Vandenberghe Mechthild Wörsdörfer Jean-Christophe Laloux Lídia Pereira Timur Gül Nils Aldag Francesco Oppici Julia Reinaud Philipp Offenberg Rosalinde van der Vlies Alice Hancock Sonja van Renssen   🚀 We heard from cleantech leaders pushing the boundaries of scale Maria Persson Gulda Gilles Moreau Bertrand Piccard   🏛 Members of the European Parliament from the four main political groups co-hosted deep-dive workshops alongside cleantech innovators. These focused on different aspects of how to scale Europe’s cleantech manufacturing capacity – from unlocking public and private financing, to accessing clean, affordable energy Radan Kanev Taavi Madiberk Pascal Canfin Fridtjof Detzner Annalisa Corrado Veronica Wänman Michael Bloss Khouloud Karam   🎢 Cleantech for Europe also announced that eleven of Europe’s most innovative cleantech companies have joined its Scale-up Coalition: Battolyser Systems Baseload Capital cylib Climeworks Electra Néolithe REGA ENERGY Heart Aerospace INERATEC Atlas Agro Genvia Cleantech for Europe’s Scale-up Coalition, now 22 members strong, convenes some of the continent’s most promising cleantech scale-ups. Collectively, this coalition represents the next generation of European Industry.   💶 Europe's industrial, financial and trade policy were high on the agenda, with key contributions from Bianca Dragomir Danielle Baron Thomas Pellerin-Carlin Stéphane Ouaki 🇺🇦🇪🇺 Mario Fernandez and many more.   🙏 Massive thanks to everyone who came together to support the success of Europe’s most ambitious and impactful cleantech companies. NOW IS THE #TimetoScale !  

Next Tuesday, in Rome, I’ll be moderating a panel on #cleantech and the #energy #transition with Giovanna Pozzi (Director Hydrogen Development Projects - Decarbonization at Snam S.p.A.), Davide Dotti (Business Innovation Director at Edison) and Francesco Oppici (Co-Founder and CPO at Energy Dome). That's a great opportunity to explore the current state of the energy transition and the pivotal role emerging technologies are playing. I look forward to an insightful discussion and hope to see you there! Special thanks to B4i - Bocconi for innovation and Forest Valley Institute for organizing and making this conversation possible. Link to register:

"We want #decarbonization to be a source of #growth." A bold and straightforward vision articulated by Mario Draghi in his much-anticipated report on the future of European competitiveness. Among other things, Draghi underscored the urgent need for Europe to: 1. Enhance coordination among stakeholders to position decarbonization as a key driver of economic growth. 2. Expand the supply of clean energy to drive down energy costs across Europe, making it more competitive globally. 3. Decouple fossil fuels from renewables and ensure we transfer the economic benefits to end users (households and industry). 4. Provide #cleantech solutions that ultimately enable decarbonization, benefiting from large amounts of accessible, low-cost energy. 5. Sustain public investment in common infrastructure such as #grid technologies. Such a role for decarbonization in the report is a breath of fresh air. In short, Draghi urges European leaders to take their responsibilities (need to coordinate) in making sure that decarbonization aligns with growth and competitiveness, by investing in critical infrastructure (need to deploy) and creating the conditions for cleantech solutions to emerge in fair market conditions and a harmonized regulatory environment. I'm glad to see so many stakeholders in Italy embracing this vision and working tirelessly to bring these priorities closer to reality.

📃 An EU Action Plan for Cleantech Competitiveness 📈   ⏰ This morning, Mario Draghi released its report on Future of European Competitiveness. With a significant focus on cleantech, the report paints a sobering but accurate diagnosis of the state of industrial competitiveness in Europe. A leader in cleantech innovation, Europe has a opportunity to become an industrial powerhouse and create millions of jobs in the process. But we still struggle to scale clean technologies, due to the lack of assertive industrial strategy focused on the next generation of technologies.   ❗ China and the US have developed such policies, invest significantly more in cleantech, and are starting to reap the benefits. The urgency for Europe to turn its “early-mover” advantage into lasting competitiveness has never been clearer.   The report proposes key measures that Cleantech for Europe has been championing to increase our competitiveness:   🥇 Finance as a top priority: the report proposes increasing and focusing public money on de-risking private capital, including via public guarantees, channeling more institutional investors towards cleantech and better leveraging ETS revenues, all measures that the cleantech community has called for.   🥈 Time for a trade wake-up call: it is critical to focus on the bankability of new investments by introducing local content criteria and other trade measures until new technologies reach scale, just like our peers in the US and China are already doing.   🥉 No success without infrastructure: we need to massively invest in infrastructure, in particular electricity grids and clean energy production, to improve the business case for the cleantech revolution.   The report also introduces new ideas on how to finance innovation, including on securitization and Common Safe Assets. Follow our colleagues at Energy Resilience Leadership Group for a full debrief. Time is short to build the industrial, trade and financial policy we need to succeed. Key parts of this action plan should implemented as soon as possible, so that the benefits of this action plan can be reaped by the end of this decade. Full report here: https://lnkd.in/eAk84kkG

👀Q2 2024: another strong quarter for EU cleantech venture investment 👀   Last quarter, Q2 2.4 billion euros in equity were invested across 161 cleantech deals. Debt rounds fell from the historical record observed in Q1, but show early promise of stabilizing at a level higher than previous years.   Against this backdrop, a new political cycle is starting in the EU. In June, Europeans elected a new European Parliament, which reconfirmed Ursula von der Leyen at the helm of the European Commission. In her speech as a candidate for a second mandate, President Von der Leyen reaffirmed her ambition for the future of cleantech to be “made in Europe”. But as global competition accelerates, success will require an unprecedented effort to turn our technological edge into industrial leadership. In short, it’s time to scale!   Read our latest Quarterly Briefing to learn more about: 📈 Investment news from the cleantech ecosystem 🏛️ The next Commission’s priorities, such as a Clean Industrial Deal, and the political guidelines for the new mandate 🔋 A deep-dive into the battery recycling sector, with a profile of the innovator cylib 🤝 Top cleantech deals this quarter, including new funds by ETF Partners, GET Fund, Seaya, Vsquared Ventures, Wind and fresh capital for Black Semiconductor, CargoBeamer, John Cockerill, HYSETCO, Salzgitter AG, Valeo, and Verkor   To realise Europe’s cleantech potential, extraordinary effort is needed – from creating strong demand signals to facilitating access to abundant, affordable clean energy for clean industry. It will also require Europe to wake up to the new realities of global trade, and take measures to enact a level-playing field between European manufacturers and importers. Most of all, it will require a step-change in how we finance clean technologies, which face an investment gap in the hundreds of billions by 2030.