The Cleantech Venture Network reports that North American venture capital investment in cleantech companies rose by 78% in 2006, for a total of a record $2.9 billion. That’s a 140% increase over the 2004 total of $1.2 billion.
About $613 million was invested in cleantech in Q4 2006, a 22% increase over the Q4 2005 investment of $502 million. The fourth quarter 2006 was down from the record invested in Q3 2006 of $933 million.
Energy-related investment accounted for $2.1 billion, or 74%, of the total 2006 cleantech venture investment. This represented a 1.9x increase over the $739 million invested in the energy category in 2005 and a 2.9x increase over 2004 energy investment. The Energy Generation segment totaled $1.3 billion, a 2.1x increase from 2005. Energy Storage attracted $354 million, representing a 2x increase over 2005.
“While energy was certainly the top area of interest, some other categories posted good gains as well,” said Nicholas Parker, chairman and co-founder of the Cleantech Venture Network. Recycling & Waste deals totaled $192 million, a 2.9x increase over 2005, and Transportation investments hit $164 million, up 2.5x over 2005, indicating growing interest in other cleantech segments.
According to a year-end report from Dow Jones Venture One and Ernst & Young, 60 cleantech companies accounted for $585.6 million in venture funding in the U.S. through the first three quarters of 2006.