Elementary Exceleratora non-profit investor in climate tech startups, including BlocPower and ChargerHelp, says it is “double-crossing” in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse.
Elemental plans to pump $43 million more into climate tech startups, $13 million of which will be earmarked for its twelfth accelerator program, which will start in October. The investor has not yet secured all the money; it is “raising the funds,” a spokesperson told londonbusinessblog.com.
In a nod to both the VC slowdown and the run on SVB, Elemental said it plans to use the money to “fill funding gaps” and “Accelerating climate solutions with a major impact on the community.” Climatetech avoided the funding drought of 2022, but the fall of SVB seems to have shocked the industry, given that of the bank long work with start-ups in climate technology.
Elemental’s interests are about as broad as climate technology itself – from electric vehicles, energy storage, recycling technology, cement decarbonisation, seaweed farming and composting.
The company’s funding target represents a step up from previous years. In 2022, it has grossed $8 million for 17 climate startups, offering them between $300,000 and $600,000 each. This time, Elemental wants to pump between $350,000 and $1 million into up to 20 ventures.
As for the remaining $30 million, Elemental CEO Dawn Lippert told londonbusinessblog.com the nonprofit will “invest an additional $30 million in catalytic project funding for three to six scale-up projects.” The company said the startup-run projects must demonstrate that they will have a “deep impact,” which it defines as “demonstrable” greenhouse gas reductions and “significant positive community impact.”
Elemental takes equity in exchange for its investments. Lippert told londonbusinessblog.com that the nonprofit “invests the benefit of these investments in supporting future entrepreneurs.”
To date, Elemental says it has invested $43 million in climate technology companies.