1/18 - As we battle COVID, we’ve got to be clear-eyed about the bigger threat to humanity: our emissions crisis.

To zero out the 55 gigatons we emit yearly, we must deploy the technologies we have & invest in the ones we need.

Let's dig in... https://rypan.medium.com/zero-emission-investing-covid-39022823d374

2/18 - This talk was part of the @EnvDefenseFund Climate Tech Series.

@NatKeohane & @AVLeland asked: What was COVID’s impact on cleantech investing in 2020?

This thread will cover the highlights. See the deck & video for the full briefing.

3/18 - What’s clear is COVID shocked our way of life. The halting of human activity led to the largest drop of CO2 on record: 1.6 gigaton.

It was a drop in emissions, but not one to celebrate.

4/18 - We have an exit strategy for COVID: tests, masks, quarantining, avoiding crowded spaces, sharing data on where the virus is. Now a vaccine.

Unfortunately for our emissions crisis there is no vaccine. No silver bullet. It will take changes to our entire way of life.

5/18 - Collectively we produce over 55 gigatons of CO2 equivalent emissions each year. Our task as innovators is to hone in on those sources of emissions and remove them.

6/18 - This flow diagram by @Livermore_Lab represents energy flows in the US.

On the left are energy sources. On the right are how it is being used. If your business is on the left, you compete for commodities. If the right, you are likely building products.

7/18 - As @JohnDoerr has said, this is the "Mother of All Markets".

This economic transformation is underway, and we are still at the beginning of capturing that value. Especially if our north star is zero-emissions.

8/18 - The stages of innovation in cleantech are different. Building any kind of company is hard. But the physics that go into scaling them is different.

For clean technology companies, things are physically harder. Companies tend to move through three different phases.

9/18 - Making it through these hurdles is challenging, but with the right teams, technology, and enough time - it is possible with incredible returns.

So how has investing been in 2020? Especially during COVID?

10/18 - Over the past 5 years, we’ve been in a period of urgent optimism.

The blue line is 2020. You can see we are a little behind our highs, from the past 2 years.

I’m optimistic that we’ll end this year higher than in 2018, maybe getting to 2019’s peak.

11/18 - In the longer deck, we dig into how the dollars were invested. The breakdown by round, average check sizes, and which parts of the world are giving the United States the most competition.

https://rypan.medium.com/zero-emission-investing-covid-39022823d374

12/18 - You can also see which 25 companies raised more than $50M in a financing this year.

Including: @Indigoag in Q1, @CFS_energy in Q2, @Rivian in Q3, and @Proterra_Inc in Q4.

No doubt more will make this list before the end of the year.

13/18 - The longer deck also shares highlights from project financing and the public markets. As well as COVID's shock to the EV market.

https://rypan.medium.com/zero-emission-investing-covid-39022823d374

14/18 - But as we look to the year ahead. We've got a lot of work to do. To get to zero, it is going to take all of us. It is going to take more ambition, research, philanthropy, policies, and capital.

15/18 - As we debate the scientific merits of climate change in the United States and coddle oil, coal, and gas interests, other countries are plowing ahead.

I would not be surprised if Asia overtakes the US in dollars invested and if Europe sets even more ambitious targets.

16/18 - These are not climate plans, these are economic plans.

Learning curves have gotten us to a place where making the emission-free choice is cost-competitive and creates jobs, jobs, jobs.

As @smithmegan says "People do things." We can't take our progress for granted.

17/18 - Moore’s Law. PV cost curve. Lithium-Ion cost curve. These curves happen because people invent, iterate, invest, pass policies, and pour their hearts into advancing technology.

As investors, we’ve got a pivotal role to play here in supporting early innovation.

18/18 - As a community, let’s continue to find the people doing audacious things to reduce our emissions and lift them up.

Let's write the checks, pass the policies, and create an environment where they can scale.

Slides, Links, Credits:
https://rypan.medium.com/zero-emission-investing-covid-39022823d374