Inside Clean Growth Fund: £101m UK VC Backing Early-Stage Climate Tech

Quick summary

• Fund size: £101 million under management.
• Stage focus: Seed and Series A for UK-based companies (typical initial checks £500,000–£3 million).
• Investment priority: Technologies that deliver measurable CO2-equivalent abatement or materially improve resource efficiency across power, transport, industry, buildings, waste and water.
• Operations: Founded in 2020 and led by Beverley Gower-Jones OBE; authorised and regulated by the FCA.
• Value-add: Close collaboration with Carbon Limiting Technologies (CLT), an early-stage incubator providing ongoing commercialisation, strategy and business development support.

Why this matters for founders

• They prioritise clear, measurable CO2 reductions — you’ll need robust abatement metrics and a credible path to scale.
• Their model pairs relatively small targeted cheques with incubator-linked follow-on support, so they favour teams that will quickly use both capital and operational support to de-risk commercialisation.
• Early engagement with CLT can improve your commercial readiness and increase fit with the fund’s investment criteria.

Practical pre-application checklist

• CO2 abatement case: Quantified current and projected CO2-equivalent reductions (methodology and assumptions documented).
• Scalability: Evidence of technical scalability and a credible addressable market where large cumulative abatement is possible.
• Traction: Pilots, letters of intent, paying customers, or beta deployments that validate value and cost-savings.
• Team & capability: Founders and key hires with domain, engineering and commercial experience.
• Use of funds: Clear plan for how £0.5–3m will be deployed to hit the next value-inflection milestones.
• IP & barriers: Defensible IP, regulatory pathway clarity, or other moat evidence.

Short roadmap to prepare (3–9 months)

1. Engage CLT early for commercialisation support and to align on KPIs and pilot strategy.
2. Finalize a quantified abatement model and independent validation or third‑party review if possible.
3. Secure at least one commercial pilot or LOI and document outcomes and learnings.
4. Build a clear 12–18 month milestone plan showing how initial capital will drive unit economics and scale.
5. Prepare investor materials emphasizing measurable CO2 impact, go‑to‑market, and team strength (deck, data room, financial model).
6. Run investor rehearsals and seek warm intros to Clean Growth Fund or CLT-aligned contacts.

If you’d like, I can review your abatement model and investor deck or draft a tailored 6‑month plan to improve fit with Clean Growth Fund’s criteria.

Source: Clean Growth Fund — About