At a Glance
Clean Energy Ventures is a Boston-based global venture capital firm that invests in scalable early-stage climate tech startups and clean energy technologies addressing global climate change. Founded in 2017 by Daniel Goldman, David Miller and Temple Fennell, it invests from pre-seed and seed through Series A and later rounds, and manages $305 million in its current flagship fund. Its first fund closed at $110 million in October 2019 and backed 20 companies across grid-edge connectivity and advanced metering, innovative materials and manufacturing processes for carbon fiber composites and silicon solar wafers, residential and industrial energy efficiency, and smart grid sensors and software. Fund II closed at $305 million in May 2024, oversubscribed against a $200 million target, with limited partners including the Grantham Foundation, Builders Vision and Carbon Equity. Alongside that close the firm opened a London office and began backing European climate entrepreneurs. Notable portfolio companies include Form Energy, Boston Metal, Sila Nanotechnologies, Opus 12 and Heliogen, with early Fund II commitments to long-duration storage company Noon Energy, compressor developer Evari, green ammonia company Nitrofix and sustainable aviation fuel company OXCCU. What distinguishes the firm is that it underwrites every deal against a quantified emissions-reduction threshold rather than market size alone, and has committed Fund II to mitigating 75 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. That screen pushes it toward capital-intensive hardware and industrial process technologies that generalist funds avoid, and the team is staffed accordingly, with engineers and PhD scientists running technical diligence alongside the investment partners.
“Invests in early-stage clean energy technology companies with potential for massive carbon reduction impact.”
Clean Energy Ventures was founded in 2017 by Daniel Goldman, David Miller and Temple Fennell and closed its first fund at $110 million in October 2019, aimed squarely at the seed and early-stage capital gap in advanced energy. Fund I backed 20 companies across grid-edge connectivity and advanced metering, materials and manufacturing processes for carbon fiber composites and silicon solar wafers, residential and industrial energy efficiency, and smart grid sensors and software.
Fund II closed at $305 million in May 2024, substantially oversubscribed against an initial $200 million target. Limited partners include the Grantham Foundation, Builders Vision and Carbon Equity. The fund carries an explicit impact mandate, targeting mitigation of 75 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and its close was paired with the opening of a London office to extend the strategy to European climate entrepreneurs. Early Fund II deployments went to long-duration storage company Noon Energy, compressor developer Evari, Israeli green ammonia company Nitrofix and UK sustainable aviation fuel company OXCCU.
Daniel Goldman
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Clean Energy Ventures
Temple Fennell
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Clean Energy Ventures
Clean Energy Ventures primarily invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B+ stages. This means they focus on companies that are at the earliest idea or prototype phase.
Clean Energy Ventures is headquartered in Boston, MA. Many of their portfolio companies are also based in this region, though they invest across geographies.
Clean Energy Ventures focuses on investments in Aerospace & Defense, Other, Consumer, Fintech, Climate. Their portfolio reflects deep expertise and networks within these sectors.
Clean Energy Ventures's typical investment check size ranges from $100K to $5M. Actual amounts may vary based on the stage, sector, and specific opportunity.
Clean Energy Ventures manages approximately $305M in assets under management (AUM) across their funds.
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