If the world is running at 4 degrees warming, we’ll need all the brilliant climate tech we can get to turn this heating juggernaut around.
That’s no doubt why the Clean Energy Finance Corporation has backed a new $200 million climate focused fund by Virescent Ventures.
That’s on top of around $260 million already committed to climate specific tech startups over the last six years, with the latest tranche pitched at the “growing number of family offices and companies scrambling to gain exposure to technologies that might shift the dial on the global energy transition,” The AFR reported this week.
Virescent’s managing partner Kristin Vaughan said, “Climate valuations weren’t as high during the broader software run-up… But the decarbonisation trend hasn’t stopped, and corporates and governments are pushing harder. That’s kept the trajectory steady. They want exposure to this specific asset class.”
Partner in the business, Blair Pritchard said he became “completely obsessed” with the climate space when he worked at Macquarie Bank.
And property get a look in too
The news followed an announcement late last year that the CEFC would partner with MaxCap to provide lending to retrofit offices, malls, and hotels in a $75 million agreement.
The two organisations were set to invest $35 million each in a loan to Quintessential to fund the acquisition of a building at 30 Pirie Street, Adelaide, and $30 million for an upgrade in Adelaide.
CEFC head of property Michael Di Russo (who presented in our Festival of Electric Ideas last year) said in a media statement at the time: “It is essential that we make our commercial properties fit for a net zero emissions future in the race to decarbonise. Commercial buildings in urban centres, suburbs, and regional towns across Australia account for around half of the nation’s building stock, and many have never undergone energy efficiency upgrades.
“Refurbishments like 30 Pirie Street in Adelaide’s CBD demonstrate to commercial property owners that relatively straightforward energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives can deliver value for building owners and tenants alike and achieve broader scale change that can help meet ambitious sustainability goals across Australia’s commercial property sector.
“The non-bank sector is a big part of the [lending] market.”
In 2021, the CEFC provided a $30 million loan to Forza Capital to acquire and refurbish a 25 year old Brisbane office building – 200 Creek Street – and cut its carbon emissions by up to 55 per cent. It also has a $300 million program to encourage mass timber construction across the property sector.
- See Forza director Adam Murchie’s presentation from the Electric Ideas masterclass series that includes a case study of the project at 200 Creek Street.
And there’s houses that need upgrading as well
This announcement in September last year, was followed by an early December report that the CEFC would invest in a $1 billion loans program to help residential property owners undertake sustainable upgrades.
The household energy upgrades fund (HEUF) will be available for insulation, double glazing, electric vehicle chargers, home batteries, smart meters, and energy efficient equipment such as pool pumps, airconditioning and cooktops.