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The role of Venture Capital and Governments in Clean Energy: Lessons from the First Cleantech Bubble

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  • Matthias van den Heuvel
  • David Popp

Abstract

After a boom and bust cycle in the early 2010s, venture capital (VC) investments are, once again, flowing towards green businesses. In this paper, we use Crunchbase data on 150,000 US startups founded between 2000 and 2020 to better understand why VC initially did not prove successful in funding new clean energy technologies. Both lackluster demand and a lower potential for outsized returns make clean energy firms less attractive to VC than startups in ICT or biotech. However, we find no clear evidence that characteristics such as high-capital intensity or long development timeframe are behind the lack of success of VC in clean energy. In addition, our results show that while public sector investments can help attract VC investment, the ultimate success rate of firms receiving public funding remains small. Thus, stimulating demand will have a greater impact on clean energy innovation than investing in startups that will then struggle through the “valley of death”. Rather than investing themselves in startups bound to struggle through the valleys of death, governments wishing to support clean energy startups can first implement demand-side policies that make investing in clean energy more viable.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthias van den Heuvel & David Popp, 2022. "The role of Venture Capital and Governments in Clean Energy: Lessons from the First Cleantech Bubble," NBER Working Papers 29919, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29919
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    Cited by:

    1. Harilal Krishna & Yash Kashyap & Dwarkeshwar Dutt & Ambuj D. Sagar & Abhishek Malhotra, 2023. "Understanding India’s low-carbon energy technology startup landscape," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 94-105, January.
    2. David Popp & Francesco Vona & Myriam Grégoire-Zawilski & Giovanni Marin, 2024. "The Next Wave of Energy Innovation: Which Technologies? Which Skills?," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(1), pages 45-65.
    3. Silvia Dalla Fontana & Ramana Nanda, 2023. "Innovating to Net Zero: Can Venture Capital and Start-Ups Play a Meaningful Role?," Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy and the Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 79-105.
    4. Sarah Armitage & Noël Bakhtian & Adam B. Jaffe, 2023. "Innovation Market Failures and the Design of New Climate Policy Instruments," NBER Chapters, in: Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy, volume 5, pages 4-48, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Guillochon, Justine, 2022. "The role of media, policy and regional heterogeneity in renewable energy project crowdfunding," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • Q40 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - General
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation

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