EIT InnoEnergy secures €4.3 billion for cleantech growth in 2024
EIT InnoEnergy, the innovation engine in sustainable energy, has marked yet another milestone year in driving the energy transition forward, with its portfolio of cleantech startups and scaleups closing 56 rounds, raising €4.3 billion.
Investment in these companies, ranging from wave energy to battery and green steel, includes both private and public funding, with InnoEnergy also playing an active role. This underscores that, despite a challenging year, InnoEnergy and its ecosystem remain committed to investing and delivering added-value services to the companies leading the charge in the energy transition.
Adding to its portfolio of more than 200 companies, 2024 saw InnoEnergy invest in an additional 14 cleantech startups. This includes a €1.5 million injection into French deeptech startup, Geolinks to advance carbon capture monitoring as well as the launch of Repono, which aims to deploy and operate 100 gigawatt hours of energy storage in Europe by 2030 by securing the grid balance needed for green energy to reach net zero. These investments reflect InnoEnergy’s commitment to scaling innovative technologies that will accelerate the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors.
Supporting its investment strategy, InnoEnergy welcomed OMV, OMV Petrom, ACB Participaties B.V. and Boryszew as shareholders in 2024, topping up its €140 million private placement completed in 2023 and enabling InnoEnergy to accelerate its impact in Europe and the US.
Elena Bou, Co-Founder and Innovation Director at EIT InnoEnergy, said: “Although global cleantech investment was projected at $2 trillion last year, this is only half of what’s needed to meet net zero targets. During what has been a dry year for the cleantech industry, InnoEnergy has pushed forward, actively supporting our portfolio and derisking their business cases with the support of our shareholders and wider ecosystem. We need to support our cleantech champions and secure their scaling up so their solutions create positive environmental, economic and social impact.”
Other highlights include the InnoEnergy’s Skills Institute upskilling over 100,000 learners in the battery industry and launching the Skills Institute Solar Academy to meet the growing demand for skilled professionals in the clean energy sector. Further supporting the future of the workforce, the InnoEnergy Master School rebranded to InnoEnergy Masters+. With over 2,000 graduates, 10% are now contributing their expertise within InnoEnergy portfolio companies or shareholder organisations.
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