Sian Crampsie
Australia's government has announced the creation of a A$20 million ($15 million) seed fund that will back the development of innovative clean energy technologies.
The Clean Energy Seed Fund (CESF) will be managed by Artesian Venture Partners and will invest in 30-50 start-up businesses over the next five years, Australian minister for the Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg said.
It will include A$10 million of finance from the state-owned Clean Energy Innovation Fund (CEIF), which was established earlier this year to drive innovation in clean energy technology.
The Australian government believes that the seed fund model will help to build partnerships between the Australian investment community and tech firms, helping to overcome a recent general decline in venture capital investment. “Technologies and businesses will be attracted to the early stage financial support of the seed fund and create a pipeline of potential deals for more substantial later stage capital investors,” the Ministry of Environment and Energy said in a statement.
The clean energy initiatives launched by the Australian government are part of efforts in the country to reach its renewable energy target of 33 000 GWh of renewable energy generation by 2020.
An estimated 6000 MW of new renewable energy capacity will be required to achieve the renewable energy target.
