Cleantech Investment Totals Strong in 2011

The preliminary 4Q and FY 2011 results for clean technology venture investments around the globe suggested that the future is still bright for cleantech after a somewhat turbulent year. Total VC investments in cleantech totaled $8.99 billion for the entire, a robust 13% increase from 2010. The 4Q total also finished strong at $2.06 billion, capping a second half shadowed by Solyndra et al’s downfall and economic uncertainties around the globe.

Solar, energy efficiency and transportation were the top three sectors invested. Solar topped in amount invested ($1.81 billion), followed by energy efficiency ($1.46 billion) and Transportation ($1.12 billion). Energy efficiency was the most popular sector measured by number of deals, with 150 funding rounds, ahead of solar (111 deals) and energy storage (61 deals). As for regional distribution, investments in North America grew to $6.81 billion (+31% from 2010) while Europe & Israel took a step back at $1.30 billion (-30% from 2010).

In the public markets, China remained strong for cleantech IPOs. 28 of the 51 IPOs in 2011 came out of China, led by several massive offerings by large renewable energy corporations. Cleantech mergers & acquisitions reached record highs in 2011 with 391 deals and a dollar volume of $41.2 billion. This is not only highest total volume ever recorded for cleantech M&A transactions, but also an strong statement for cleantech innovation considering that the global M&A number in 2011 actually went slightly down from 2010.

For more information and data, please check out Cleantech Group’s i3 Platform, which is a comprehensive, vetted, up-to-date source for insights into companies, investors, financing and relationships across the clean technology ecosystem.