Entrepreneurs setting up green technology businesses are to be offered government support to build up their companies.
The service, called Carbon Trust Entrepreneurs Fast Track, is designed to stimulate investment in emerging ‘clean tech’ companies, taking them from high-risk start-ups to attractive investment propositions.
The Carbon Trust wants to invest “at least” £5m a year in research and development grants, expert commercialisation advice and investor and business networking opportunities.
The commercialisation of the UK’s early stage companies in the low carbon sector is central in creating new jobs across the country, boosting export revenues and helping the low-carbon economy, according to the Carbon Trust.
The Entrepreneurs Fast Track scheme will “turbo charge” the growth of high-tech businesses and has been developed after consultation with over 400 clean tech companies from across the UK.
‘Proof of concept’ and prototype building/testing were ranked as the most valuable types of support needed to move towards technology commercialisation
According to recent research, ‘proof of concept’ and prototype building/testing were ranked by small companies as the most valuable types of support needed to move towards technology commercialisation. The need for assistance in protecting knowledge by navigating the complex issue of intellectual property, and access to seed or venture capital finance, were the next most important factors.
The scheme is endorsed by Sir James Dyson, one of the world’s most successful industrial designers. The vacuum inventor says: “The UK will become a leading exporter of low-carbon technology – if given the right support. Inventive British companies that invest in research and development are seen as a risky proposition. But new technologies are vital to the long-term health of our economy.
“Now is the time to act: we need to match a growing awareness of our environmental impact with British ingenuity. Developing new technology takes time, and other countries have stepped up the pace. This Carbon Trust scheme supports the UK’s most promising low carbon technologies by moving quickly to commercialise new ideas.”
Minister for Energy and Climate Change Greg Barker says: “Low carbon investment is a vital part of our economic recovery. The Entrepreneurs Fast Track service will give a much needed boost to innovative companies developing green technologies. This will be vital in growing the UK’s low carbon industry, creating new jobs across the country and tackling climate change.”
Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, says: “The UK has great entrepreneurial talent and many promising low carbon ideas. But early-stage companies struggle to make the transition from concept to commercialisation owing to the high-risk nature of such ventures, and the associated difficulty in attracting financing and managerial talent.
“The Entrepreneurs Fast Track aims to de-risk these ventures by advancing technology development and building a solid commercial foundation for growth.”
Anthony Clarke, chair of the British Business Angels Association says: “Business angels are increasingly attracted to the clean tech sector and can play a key part in the effective commercialisation of innovations, offering both finance and business building skills.
“We are delighted the Carbon Trust has developed this new Entrepreneurs Fast Track scheme, providing angel investors with an important new interface with investment ready clean tech start-ups.”
David Caro, chair of the Federation of Small Businesses Environment Committee, says: “Innovative green small businesses have the potential to lead the way to a low carbon economy. However, it is crucial that they are able to make the leap from risky start-ups to commercially viable investment opportunities if we are to realise this potential.
“The Carbon Trust’s Entrepreneurs Fast Track scheme is exactly what we need to help our early stage, clean-tech firms make this leap and help the UK reap the rewards of the move to a low carbon economy.”
John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, also welcomed the Carbon Trust’s offering: “Developing early stage clean technology is a key area for laying the foundations of a new economy. If the UK is to stay in the game then it has to foster the commercialisation of new ideas.”
A number of emerging clean tech firms have already benefited from Carbon Trust support, including Bath-based G-volution, which has developed a lower cost and a reduced-emission dual fuel system for the commercial transport sector.
“The Carbon Trust support of our business came at a very critical time for us,” says Chris Smith, joint managing director of G-volution. “It enabled all our stakeholders to understand that we have a unique technology with real carbon reducing potential – and that as a business we had the potential to be world beating.
“It is hard to overstate the immense value of this to all of us, management team, shareholders, customers, both in terms of professional support and assistance in becoming investment ready, and in terms of the belief Carbon Trust helps to sustain – I see it as absolutely critical in its importance to our business then and now.”
