Ask the Investor is an interactive series we run at CLIMAFIX that derives key insights from innovative climate investors on many different aspects of their investment journey. (See all posts at Ask the Investor)
This series is done as part of the CLIMAFIX Summit 2023, India’s largest climate startup summit, organized by CLIMAFIX & Energy Consortium – IIT Madras.
In this post, we have Priya Shah and Himanshu Sharma of Theia Ventures sharing their perspectives.
CLIMAFIX thanks Priya Shah and Himanshu Sharma for their valuable inputs.
1. Which are the specific climate tech domains that are of interest to you and your firm?
1) Alternate Fuels – Green Hydrogen and Biofuels,
2) Climate Biotech – Alternate Materials, climate-smart agriculture, alt proteins,
3) Energy transition – Energy efficiency, Heating & Cooling, Smart Grids, Smart Metering, Energy Demand Response Management, Virtual Power Plants, Energy Storage,
4) Circular Economy – Battery recycling, waste upcycling,
5) Carbon Markets – Carbon management, Carbon Credits, Carbon Capture, Usage, and Storage (CCUS),
6) Property tech, Water Treatment & Water Tech.
2. According to you which are the underserved climate tech sectors where more investments are needed but where investing currently is a challenge?
Alternate materials, Energy Efficiency, Waste Upcycling, CCUS, Water Tech, Property tech, and Water Treatment & Water Tech.
3. What are the key challenges that you see in the Indian climate investment domain?
1) Lack of the follow on investments in the non electric vehicle sectors under climate tech.
2) Hesitancy on the part of mainstream tech VCs to invest in asset-heavy models.
3) Lack of philanthropic or grant capital to invest in R&D for climate tech technologies.
4) Lack of subsidy incentives and taxation structures in certain climate tech sectors, impacting the adoption of the new technologies.
4. What are some of the climate tech innovations (Indian or global) that caught your attention?
1) Green Chemistry – Sustainable Biomaterials,
2) Carbon Capture, Usage, and Storage (CCUS),
3) Synthetic Biology,
4) Carbon-negative materials such as biochar,
5) Commercial water treatment,
6) Green fuels,
7) Long-form energy storage.
5. If you had a magic wand that can give you just one wish, what would your wish be?
Corporates are providing opportunities to climate tech startups to sample their products/technologies as a starting point for much larger B2B contracts.
