Growth Credit: How credit investing can promote climate technologies to scale - a white paper by IFM Investors
Sometimes referred to as the “missing middle” or “the valley of death” for climate tech investment, there is no doubt that scaling up hardware tech to lower carbon emissions, particularly for the hard-to-abate sectors, comes with a unique set of risks and challenges. Ahead of Decarb TechInvest Europe, IFM Investors have shared a white paper covering how Credit Investing can promote climate tech to scale, even ahead of projections.
Key Areas Covered in the whitepaper:
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- Role of Growth Credit in Climate Finance: Growth credit offers flexible, long-term debt that supports the expansion of sustainable businesses without the dilution effects of equity financing.
- Bridging the Funding Gap – Traditional financing often fails to meet the needs of climate-focused enterprises when transitioning to large-scale deployment. Bridge this gap with capital tailored to high-growth, asset-light climate businesses.
- Attractive Risk-Return Profile – Investors can benefit from stable, risk-adjusted returns while contributing to decarbonisation goals. Growth credit presents lower default risks compared to venture capital, making it a compelling asset class.
- Strategic Sectors for Investment – Key sectors benefiting from growth credit, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, circular economy, and clean transportation. These sectors require significant capital to scale their impact and meet global net-zero targets.
- Need for Policy and Institutional Support – Growth credit success depends on supportive policies, regulatory frameworks, and collaboration between financial institutions, investors, and governments to de-risk investments and accelerate the green transition.
Co-author of the report Sidd Bhat, Executive Director of Debt Investments, IFM Investors will be speaking on the headliner panel on “Whole Ecosystem Approach to Overcoming Europe’s FOAK challenge” and will share how private debt can provide growth capital for capital intensive emerging technologies
Exclusive Podcast Episode: FOAK 2.0 - What I learned in the last year since FOAK emerged as a concept
In this episode, Alex Cameron, CEO of Decarb Connect sits down with David Yeh, a veteran climate tech investor and one of the key voices from our Decarb TechInvest event last autumn. He’s been at the forefront of FOAK investing and is here to share what he’s learned over the past year about getting these projects off the ground.
Top 3 Reasons to Listen to This Episode
- Get Inside the Mind of a FOAK Investor: David Yeh shares firsthand insights into what makes a FOAK project investable, based on real-world deals.
- Learn What’s Working Now in Climate Tech: Discover how companies are securing billion-dollar funding rounds and making first-of-a-kind projects viable.
- Understand the Key to Bankability: Whether you’re a startup, investor, or policymaker, this episode breaks down how to de-risk projects and bring them to market successfully.
Exclusive Podcast Episode: LSB’s view on market development for low carbon products
Join Alex Cameron, CEO of Decarb Connect and Jakob Krummenacher, Vice President of Clean Energy at LSB Industries, for a discussion about how LSB is working both directly with existing clients and through extended value chains to create certified products that have a value and a client base willing to pay it.
Innovation Fund: €4.2 billion to support 77 cutting-edge decarbonisation projects for EU’s clean energy transition
The Innovation Fund 2023 Call (IF23) has finalised grant agreements for 77 decarbonization projects across 18 European countries, with six additional projects invited from the reserve list, aiming to cut emissions by approximately 422.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over ten years. Funded through the EU Emissions Trading System, the grants range from €1.4 million to €262 million, supporting projects in energy-intensive industries, renewable energy, energy storage, carbon management, net-zero mobility, and buildings. With a total budget of €12 billion, the Innovation Fund promotes Europe’s transition to a net-zero economy by investing in clean technology and breakthrough climate solutions.
Clean Industrial Deal: Inside the EU’s plans to unlock $100bn to decarbonise heavy industry
The European Commission has promised new interventions to de-risk hydrogen investment and make electricity cheaper for manufacturers, as part of a sweeping Clean Industrial Deal which it believes could unlock $100bn through 2040.
Greenlyte secures multi-million Euro funding to reach commercial inflection point by building its FOAK 1 facility
Greenlyte Carbon Technologies has been recommended for a multi-million Euro grant funding through the “Produktives.NRW” program, co-financed by the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the European Union. This grant will support the development of DAC-2-e-Methanol, a FOAK (first-of-a-kind) Direct Air Capture (DAC) to eMethanol facility at the chemical park in Marl, marking a significant milestone in Greenlyte’s journey to scale liquid renewable energy.
