Cleantech

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Cleantech is a term used to describe knowledge-based products or services that improve operational performance, productivity, or efficiency while reducing costs, inputs, energy consumption, waste, or pollution. Its origin is the increased consumer, regulatory and industry interest in clean forms of energy generation—specifically, perhaps, the rise in awareness of global warming and the impact on the natural environment from the burning of fossil fuels.

1 Overview
2 Investment
3 Cleantech Networking
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Overview

Cleantech first emerged in widespread use to describe a group of emerging technologies, industries, and financial asset classes based on principles of biology, resource efficiency, and second-generation production concepts in basic industries. Examples include energy efficiency, selective catalytic reduction, non-toxic materials, water purification, solar energy, and new paradigms in energy conservation. Since the 1990s, interest in these technologies has increased with two trends: a decline in the relative cost of these technologies and a growing understanding of the link between industrial design used in the 19th century and early 20th century, such as fossil fuel power plants, the internal combustion engine, and chemical manufacturing, and an emerging understanding of human-caused impact on earth systems resulting from their use (see articles: ozone hole, acid rain, desertification, and global warming).

[edit] Investment

Annual Clean Tech Investments Volume Analysis
Year	Deals	Investment ($mil)
2005	100	532,7
2006	180	1,779.6
2007	168	2,604.9
Source: NVCA/ Thomson Financial ^[1]

The North American cleantech venture capital investment covers more than US$8.8 billion of cleantech venture investments over a 10-year period (from 1999 through to the end of 2005), and projects cleantech investment to the end of 2009. The report forecasts that capital dedicated to cleantech could total US$10 billion from 2005 through 2009.^[2]

Driven by stronger bottom line returns, investor activity has expanded globally to move beyond triple bottom line (also referred to as triple net) toward traditional earnings-driven investing.

[edit] Cleantech Networking

Organizations are being established around the world to enable cleantech investors, entrepreneurs, and researchers to connect with one another. Examples include: