ENERGY TECHS FIND IT DOUBLY HARD TO SUCCEED THAN OTHER TECH START-UPS

Energy tech start-ups find it nearly 200 per cent harder to move to the development stage than tech start-ups in other sectors.

That’s according to a 2022 report by Harwell Campus and Tech Nation which suggests nearly half of UK energy tech companies are still at the seed stage.

The report highlighted the unprecedented growth in global investment in the energy tech sector in 2021 – up 36 per cent to £1.5 billion in 2021: more than Germany, France and the Netherlands combined, and second only to Sweden in Europe.

However, the report called for an increase in later-stage investment and clustering to boost the confidence of investors towards green long-term projects.

The report identified that clustering organisations together provides opportunities for cross-fertilisation to occur organically, which, when combined with the right infrastructure, will provide the confidence for investors to support sustainable long-term projects that solve societal problems.

In the energy tech sector, this will lead to scaled energy technologies, allow energy tech firms to reach later growth stages and will position the UK as a global hub for net zero technologies.

The 950 UK energy tech organisations that are clustered largely in Oxfordshire – like Harwell’s Energy Tech Cluster – are fundamental in helping energy providers develop net zero technologies across a wide range of sectors, including renewables, battery research, zero carbon energy storage, zero carbon fuels, integrated energy systems, connected and autonomous travel solutions, and digital and data services.

Gerard Grech, founding CEO at Tech Nation said: "Failure to secure later stage investment is too common for scaling energy tech companies because of the inherent complexity of moving advances from the lab into the energy grid.”

Eco-friendly or eco-fake? Businesses face greenwashing clampdown warns Printwaste

Gloucester waste management firm Printwaste is urging businesses to think carefully about using misleading green credentials, warning that they could soon face a clampdown by industry watchdogs on making spurious claims.

Greenwashing is the practice of overexaggerating or even faking claims concerning environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts as a marketing ploy to win greater favour from consumers and investors. Industries and organisations face increasing pressure to reduce their environmental impact and cut carbon emissions. Stakeholders and campaigners now have different expectations on businesses and want to see their sustainability claims backed up.

A fleet of 130 zero-emission doubledecker buses will be introduced next year as part of a £140 million project to make Coventry the UK’s first all-electric bus city.

Last year Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority, secured £50 million funding from the Department of Transport to ensure every bus in Coventry is zero-emission.

Now under a deal with TfWM, National Express Coventry is making an additional multimillionpound investment into the AllElectric Bus City project with the purchase of the 130 buses. The company is set to order further vehicles at a later date.

According to TfWM, similar agreements with other bus companies and those running subsidised services are likely to follow, with the aim of putting up to 300 electric buses on the streets of Coventry, guaranteeing an allelectric fleet by 2025.

In addition to new vehicles, TfWM is also working with Coventry City Council to create the necessary charging infrastructure to power the new buses.

This will include upgrades to bus depots and charging points at Pool Meadow Bus Station in the city.

David Bradford, managing director of National Express Bus, said: “Ten of our existing electric doubledecker buses have already driven over 850,000 miles and saved 1,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide from going out into the atmosphere. Hundreds more of these zeroemission buses are now on their way. It is really great news for Coventry."

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