Artesian Venture Partners has launched the Au$20 million Clean Energy Seed Fund, that includes a Au$10 million cornerstone commitment from Clean Energy Innovation Fund, managed jointly by Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
Funds available through the Clean Energy Seed Fund will be invested in clean energy startups in partnership with established clean energy accelerators, CEFC informed.
Funds will also be invested in ventures sourced from the broader Australian startup ecosystem, including other incubators, university programs and angel groups.
The Clean Energy Seed Fund will invest at seed, angel and later stage follow on rounds in 30 to 50 startups over its 4 to 5-year investment period, according to CEFC.
Jeremy Colless , Artesian Managing Partner, said: “The Clean Energy Seed Fund will target scalable, high growth potential startups, fueling innovation and creating opportunities in the development of clean technology.
“It will look across sectors such as the internet of things, energy storage, biofuels, alternative energy generation including solar, wave, geothermal, wind, metering and control, green building and biomaterials, transport technologies, water and waste.”
The Au$10 million cornerstone commitment is the first project to be financed through the new Clean Energy Innovation Fund which became operational on July 1, 2016, with the goal of investing Au$1 billion over 10 years in eligible innovative clean energy projects.
The fund is seeking registration with Innovation Australia as an early stage venture capital (VC) limited partnership (ESVCLP) to provide investors with tax-free returns and will therefore be compliant with the Significant Investor Visa (SIV) Program, CEFC informed.
The seed fund is targeting additional private sector equity investment of up to Au$10 million to complement the Au$10 million cornerstone commitment from the Clean Energy Innovation Fund.
Artesian Venture Partners is a specialised investment manager which targets both financial and strategic returns for HNWI, corporates and institutional investors.