Venture capital investment in energy start-ups, by technology area, for early-stage deals, 2004-2023

Sources

IEA analysis based on Cleantech Group (2023) (https://i3connect.com/front_page?ref=%2F) and Crunchbase (2023) (https://data.crunchbase.com/docs).

Notes

2023 is an estimate based on Q1 data; early-stage deals are defined as seed, Series A and Series B deals; very large deals in these categories – above a value equal to the 90th percentile growth equity deals in that sector and year – are excluded and reclassified as growth-stage investments; industry includes start-ups developing alternative routes to materials such as building materials, steel and chemicals; mobility includes technologies specific to alternative powertrains, their infrastructure and vehicles, but not generic shared mobility, logistics or autonomous vehicle technology; Other includes CCUS, nuclear, critical minerals and heat generation; fossil fuels cover start-ups whose businesses aim to make fossil fuel use cheaper or otherwise more attractive, including fossil fuel extraction and fuel economy of hydrocarbon combustion vehicles; a review of the data classifications for WEI 2023 has modified trends published by the IEA in prior years.