Cleantech Funding Momentum Builds with Multi-Billion Commitments
At a glance: Motion Ventures unveiled Fund II in Q1 2026, targeting a $100 million raise to back at least 25 companies decarbonizing and digitizing the global maritime supply chain through software innovations and asset-intensive hardware solutions, with check sizes ranging from $250,000 to $10 million over the next two years, supported by a 17-member consortium. This launch coincides with the Asian Development Bank's Sustainable and Resilient Maritime Fund, initiated at the end of Q2 2025 as a blended finance vehicle to bolster future-ready port infrastructure and resilient supply chains across member countries, particularly in ASEAN nations aligning with International Maritime Organization targets via port decarbonization roadmaps and subsidies for alternative fuels.
Technology advance: Polestar Capital's e-Mobility & Infrastructure Fund (PCEIF), a $525 million (€500 million) structured debt and impact funding vehicle, is providing long-term loans to charge-point operators, depot charging systems, and EV fleet operators across Europe to bridge financing gaps in zero-emission logistics and mobility infrastructure where traditional banks and venture capital fall short, accelerating the scale-up and deployment of low-emission mobility assets.
Partnerships: Calderion Fund, a $174 million (€150 million) deeptech initiative, is collaborating with industrial experts to support at least 25 global innovators developing low-carbon hydrogen, CO₂ capture, and synthetic e-fuels for hard-to-electrify sectors including heavy industry, maritime transport, and aviation, combining deep tech expertise with long-term capital horizons to drive technological breakthroughs.
Acquisitions/expansions: Generate Capital announced it has raised over $1 billion in the last 12 months ending early 2026, with Managing Director Scott Gosselink, formerly of SunEdison and EDF-Renewable Energy, spearheading investments in the clean-mobility sector to accelerate transportation decarbonization through structured renewable energy and energy transition projects developed across the U.S. and beyond.
Regulatory/policy: The European Institute of Innovation and Technology's Urban Mobility Fund committed $50 million (€44 million) in November 2025 to early-stage startups from pre-seed to Series A over the next three years, employing impact metrics to advance scalable electrification, mobility data platforms, public transport systems, and alternative fuelling technologies amid the EU Commission's Clean Industrial Deal framework and Clean Corporate Vehicles Regulation mandating EV adoption for corporate fleets.
Finance/business: Silicon Valley Bank's latest report highlights U.S. climate tech investment achieving six straight months of growth through April 2025, with venture capital surging into energy, manufacturing, and carbon tech sectors; climate tech funds outperforming overall VC with a 9% higher internal rate of return for 2020-2024 vintages, driven by National Head Dan Baldi's optimism around clean fuels, dispatchable renewables, and carbon tech amid rising valuations, decade-high Series B rounds at $30 million, and Series C+ at $60 million in 2024, alongside resilient early-stage pipelines fueling electrification where renewables are projected to comprise half of electricity generation by 2030.
Sources: cleantech.com, prnewswire.com, generatecapital.com
