Below is a good article from the SJ Mercury News this weekend on the global investment in clean tech. In 2009, there was $162B invested globally in clean tech and China is investing at double the rate of the US. What does this portend for US based clean tech companies? It will be increasingly imperative to quickly demonstrate “market traction” in the form of customers and revenues for any clean tech start-up. The start-up runways are getting shorter and shorter and only those that go to market and execute exceptionally well by acquiring new customers and generating revenues will survive in this brutally competitive global environment.
Clean energy: China takes lead in spending, Pew report finds
SHANGHAI — China has taken the lead in investments in clean energy, spending nearly double what the United States did in 2009, as it ramps up projects in both renewable and traditional energy, a report said Thursday. China’s investment and financing for clean energy rose to $34.6 billion in 2009, out of $162 billion invested globally, according to the report by the nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts. U.S. spending ranked second, at $18.6 billion, with European nations also recording strong growth. “Countries are jockeying for leadership. They know that investing in clean energy can renew manufacturing bases, and create export opportunities, jobs and businesses,” Phyllis Cuttino, who directs the Pew Environment Group’s Global Warming Campaign, said in a statement.
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