Australian clean energy seed fund raises USD 20m

Investment manager Artesian has raised AUD 26 million (USD 19.9m/EUR 18.1m) for the Clean Energy Seed Fund, the Australian government's Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) said on Wednesday.

The fund was launched in September 2016 with a target of AUD 20 million and a AUD-10-million cornerstone commitment from the CEFC via the Clean Energy Innovation Fund.

In addition to the CEFC's cornerstone investment, it has secured AUD 10 million from ethical wealth manager Australian Ethical Investment and further investments from Hostplus and Future Super.

The fund is expected to invest in 30 to 50 start-ups over its four-year investment period. It will target sectors such as the internet of things, energy storage, biofuels, alternative energy generation, including solar, wave, geothermal and wind, metering and control, green building and biomaterials, transport technologies, water and waste.

"The Clean Energy Seed Fund will play a critical role in helping establish a national clean energy startup ecosystem, encouraging and supporting entrepreneurs, backing accelerator programs, attracting co-investors, and engaging with international, especially Asian, partners and markets," commented Artesian managing partner Jeremy Colless.

(AUD 1 = USD 0.766/EUR 0.695)

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